Updated at 18:27,12-11-2024

Traffic police open fire while chasing drunk taxi driver in Minsk

BelaPAN

Traffic police officers had to open fire while chasing a drunk taxi driver through Minsk streets in the early hours of June 25.

The police had been alerted to the 57-year-old man's suspicious behavior by a motorist, Anastasiya Tsybina, a spokeswoman for the Tsentralny district traffic police department, told BelaPAN.

The man eventually crashed his vehicle into the motorist's car before leaving the scene. Shortly afterward the taxi was noticed by a traffic police detail who started a pursuit. Minutes into the chase, the taxi hit a police vehicle that had stopped at an intersection. The police pursuing the man fired a shot at the vehicle but missed. The driver was finally arrested on an alley close to residential buildings in western Minsk.

The driver was found to have been drinking before the incident. He was charged with nine violations of traffic rules.