Man paralyzed during police interrogation

Two South Korean police officers have been suspended after a civilian they had been interrogating suffered a major spinal injury, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, local police officials said Monday.

The victim, in his 50s, had been undergoing questioning at Asan Police Station in South Chungcheong Province at 1:30 a.m. on May 11, when he suddenly stood up from his seat and leaned his upper body forward. One of the police officers grabbed him from behind and pulled him back, and the victim fell to the floor, hitting a chair hard in the process.

Unable to get up, he was diagnosed with a spinal injury to the C5, C6 vertebrae of his neck, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. It is unclear if the paralysis is permanent, with the victim showing signs of recovering some feeling in his toes after undergoing surgery.

The victim had been under investigation for obstruction of official duties by slapping a police officer on May 10.

Asan Police Station suspended the officer who had pulled the victim from behind, along with the officer's superior for failing to prevent the situation. Charges have not yet been filed for the injury. The Chungnam Provincial Police Agency is having the adjacent Cheonan Seobuk Police Station handle the case.