A serious incident occurred early Saturday morning in Rhodes when a woman, a Danish national, caused a disturbance outside the Rhodes Security Sub-Directorate building. According to Demokratiki, it was around 04:10 when the 34-year-old woman approached the pole of the Greek flag located on the front of the building at 45 Ethniki Dodecanissias Street, took it down and started running while holding it in her hands.

Her act was immediately noticed by passers-by, while a few minutes later police officers of the Rhodes Police Department patrolling the area spotted the woman a few meters away from the spot. She had already thrown the flag into the street and seemed to be in a state of intense agitation.

Resistance and assault during the arrest

When officers approached her to stop her and take her to the station, the woman reacted with intense aggression. According to the official report, she screamed at the officers in English, refused to cooperate and resisted vigorously during her arrest. During the ensuing struggle, she attacked one of the officers, the 42-year-old sergeant, punching him in the face and kicking him in the right knee.

Before the officers were able to subdue her, the offender repeatedly spat in the sergeant’s face. The woman was eventually arrested and taken to the department for further investigation.

Forensic examination and police action

A forensic examination of the injured police officer was ordered by the authorities in order to determine the severity of the injuries sustained during the incident. At the same time, the police authorities proceeded with the appropriate procedures for the taking of statements and the transmission of the case file to the Prosecutor’s Office of Rhodes.

Information indicates that the woman was allegedly in a confused state, but it is not known whether she was under the influence of alcohol or other substances. The results of the relevant tests are awaited. Authorities are examining all possibilities, while the act of removing and throwing the Greek flag is considered highly offensive and may attract more serious criminal charges.

The case against her includes charges of insulting a national symbol, resisting, insulting and causing bodily harm to a police officer in the line of duty. The judicial authorities are expected to rule on her further criminal treatment in the coming days.