During a meeting with reporters, Chief of Police Valery Osipyan spoke regarding the incident that took place between officers at the Central Police Station and members of the LGBT community. He said that he does not see any reason for there to be a service investigation.
Non-governmental organizations appealed to the chief of police demanding that an investigation take place. In regard to the argument that police were stricter towards members of the gay community during the previous administration but now have become more tolerant, Valery Osipyan stated, “Dear reporters, you are wrong. I can bring forth many examples as to how police exercised tolerance in the past too.”
Reports also asked if the police were properly protected according to the police chief, and if there was anything that caused the police to feel constrained. Valery Osipyan said, “The state of the police is at a high level and the police are able to defend both themselves and the citizens of Armenia. Just because the police exercised tolerance towards one or two citizens and those people took advantage of the situation by invading the police station doesn’t mean that our police are weak. There is no such thing. Our police are and have always been strong. Let no one think that they can invade a police department and not receive the appropriate legal punishment.”
Lusine Budaghyan
