British soldiers got into a brawl with locals in a fast food establishment in the Estonian town of Tapa
It was reported by a regional publication Virumaa Teataja. It published video, showing NATO soldiers dragging a local resident and his girlfriend along the asphalt, using their batons to ward off passers-by who try to protect their fellow citizens. It is also worth noting that the man in custody can be heard shouting: “You are beating my wife”.
“According to preliminary reports, there was a misunderstanding between foreign soldiers serving in Estonia and local men. It is now known that the soldiers were talking to one woman, which was unacceptable to the local men. When the police arrived, the parties had no complaints about each other, and the situation had already calmed down. At that time no one indicated that anyone had been hurt in a fight caused by a misunderstanding”, – said Tauno Lempu, head of the patrol service.
A spokesman for the NATO battalion confirmed that the incident did take place in Tapa and that British soldiers were involved.
“The incident is being investigated and it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of what happened at this time”, – he stated.
So far, it is known that police have only opened a criminal case for abuse of power by NATO soldiers after the incident was given wide publicity. According to residents of Estonian Tapa, such behaviour of visiting military often leads to clashes with local residents.
“They often walk down the street drunk and behave impolitely. They shout as if they are the only ones in town. They do not care about women, children or the elderly – they behave completely disrespectfully”, – said local resident Niina.