4.  The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Karlovac. 5.  At about 5.50 p.m. on 2 November 2012 the police spotted the applicant with another man, V.P., in a vehicle parked in the car park of a supermarket in Biograd na Moru. The applicant was already known to the police as a convicted drug dealer. While he was inside the supermarket the police approached V.P., who tried to throw away a plastic bag containing heroin. The police arrested him. When the applicant left the supermarket, he started to run away, but the police officers caught him and arrested him at about 6 p.m. 6.  According to the Government, since the applicant resisted arrest, the police officers had to apply force (a so-called “leg sweep” technique). 7.  According to the applicant, he was beaten by the police officers while lying on the ground. 8.  The applicant was then taken by the officers to the premises of the Zadar police. 9.  A criminal complaint was lodged against the applicant on charges of substance abuse. 10.  Medical documentation shows that on 3 November 2012 the applicant was seen by a doctor in the Zadar General Hospital and that he had sustained injuries the day before ”in a fight”. The injuries recorded were a haematoma below both eyes and a perforated left eardrum. A further medical record of 29 August 2013 shows that the applicant had a broken crown on one of his teeth. 11.  On 2 November 2012 officers B.R. and B.M. compiled a report for the Criminal Police Department of the Zadar police (“the Zadar criminal police”) on the force they had used against the applicant. The report stated that at about 5.50 p.m. that day several officers from the Drug Crimes Division of the Zadar police had followed a lead that the applicant had been procuring large amounts of heroin from an unknown person in Šibenik and selling it on in Zadar and Biograd na Moru with another person, V.P. The officers had arrived in a van in the car park of a supermarket in Biograd na Moru. Several officers had stayed in the van while officers B.R. and B.M. had attempted to carry out an identity check on the applicant and V.P., who had both been known to the police as convicted drug dealers. V.P. had tried to throw away a plastic bag containing about 5 grams of heroin. The applicant had attempted to run away to avoid being arrested. Officers B.R. and B.M. had grabbed him by his hands but he had continued to resist them. Officer B.M. had then applied a leg sweep technique which had made the applicant fall to the ground and hit the left side of his face. The officers had then applied an arm lock technique to handcuff the applicant. He had refused the medical assistance offered to him and had said that he had had no objections to the conduct of the police officers. 12.  A report on the use of force against the applicant compiled on 3 November 2012 by the Zadar criminal police and signed by the applicant indicates that he had “no objections”.
A record of the applicant’s detention of the same date states that he had a visible injury, a haematoma above his right eye, and that he said that he had fallen down. 13.  On 5 November 2012 the chief of the Zadar criminal police sent a report on the use of force against the applicant to the chief of the Zadar police, describing the events at issue in the same manner as officers B.R. and B.M. He expressed the opinion that the police officers had lawfully used forced against the applicant. 14.  On an unspecified date the applicant lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Interior about the force used against him by the police officers. 15.  On 28 December 2012 the applicant lodged a criminal complaint with the Zadar Municipal State Attorney’s Office (“the State Attorney’s Office”), alleging that police officers B.R., B.M. and S.K. had hit and kicked him all over during his arrest on 2 November 2012, even though he had not put up any resistance. He also alleged that later on, on the police premises, an officer wearing the badge no. 4373 had pushed him down the stairs. He enclosed a medical report dated 3 November 2012 showing that he had suffered a haematoma under both eyes and a perforated eardrum, the latter of which was considered a serious bodily injury. 16.  On 8 January 2013 the State Attorney’s Office asked the Zadar police to interview officers S.K. and B.R. as well as other officers involved in the incident, including the officer whose badge number the applicant had remembered. The police were also instructed to obtain medical records concerning the applicant’s injuries and to proceed with the case urgently and submit their report within thirty days. 17.  On 14 January 2013 officer A.V., the chief of the Drug Crimes Division of the Zadar police, interviewed B.R. and F.Z. The record of the interview with B.R. describes the applicant’s arrest in the same terms as the report compiled by officers B.R. and B.M. (see paragraph 11 above). F.Z. was one of the officers who had stayed in the van when the two other officers had attempted to carry out identity check on the applicant and V.P. F.Z. did not describe the use of force against the applicant by the two other officers, but did state that the allegations in the applicant’s criminal complaints were false. 18.  On 16 January 2013 the Zadar police asked the Prison Service for the identity of the officer with badge no. 4374 but it turned out that none of the officers had had that particular badge number. 19.  On 17 January 2013 officer A.Š., the chief of the Forensics Division of the Zadar police interviewed officer S.K. He said that on the critical occasion he had been on duty in Zadar and had had no knowledge of the events at issue. 20.  On 28 March 2013 the chief of the National Police asked the chief of the Zadar police to check the applicant’s allegations from the standpoint of the police and to cooperate with the State Attorney’s Office. 21.  On 9 April 2013 the State Attorney’s Office informed the applicant that the police had been asked to carry out an enquiry into his allegations. The report it had received on 23 January 2013 indicated that the applicant had resisted the police officers in their attempt to carry out an identity check and put him in a police vehicle, in response to which the officers had used force against him which had resulted in him being forced to the ground and “receiving a blow to the head”. It was concluded that the applicant’s allegations were unfounded and he was informed of his right to complain to the Zadar County State Attorney’s Office. 22.  On 12 April 2013 I.M., an officer from the Professional Conduct Department of the Zadar police interviewed officer M.K., a guard from the police’s detention facility. He said that in November 2012 the applicant and V.P. had been brought into the facility by police officers on suspicion of substance abuse. He had noticed some injuries on the applicant, namely a bruise above his eye. The applicant had said that he had fallen. At about 6 p.m. both the applicant and V.P. had sought medical assistance because of withdrawal symptoms. An ambulance had arrived and taken the applicant to the Zadar General Hospital. M.K. had made an official note about these events and had also informed the Deputy State Attorney. 23.  On 25 April 2013 officer I.M. (see paragraph 16 above) wrote a report on the force used against the applicant. She stated that the State Attorney’s Office had forwarded the applicant’s complaint to the General Crime Department of the Zadar police, against officers S.K. and B.R. as well as one unidentified officer, alleging that they had ill-treated and hit him which had caused him bodily injuries. The State Attorney’s Office had asked that several officers be interviewed and that the applicant’s medical documentation be made available. The complaint had been assigned to the chief of the Zadar criminal police.
Officer I.M. stated that the chief of the Drug Crimes Division had interviewed officers B.R., B.M. and F.Z, while the chief of the Forensics Division had interviewed officer S.K. The related report had been sent to the State Attorney’s Office on 21 January 2013.
Officer I.M. then described the incident in question as reported by the police officers implicated. She concluded that the applicant’s complaints were unfounded and that it had been aimed at securing him a better position in the criminal proceedings against him. 24.  On the same day the chief of the Zadar police sent a letter to the applicant informing him that the police officers had lawfully used force against him and that no case of ill-treatment could be established on the basis of the medical reports or statements of the police officers concerned. Furthermore, his own statements had been contradictory. 25.  On 26 April 2013 the chief of the Zadar police sent a report to the chief of the Supervisory Service of the National Police (Služba za nadzor, unapređenja rada i razvoj policije), repeating the findings of officer I.M. 26.  On 8 May 2013 the applicant replied to the State Attorney’s Office, stressing that his submission was a criminal complaint rather than a petition and asked that a decision concerning the merits of his allegations be adopted. 27.  On 14 May 2013 the State Attorney’s Office ordered the police to identify the fourth police officer mentioned in the criminal complaint who had allegedly pushed the applicant down the stairs and had the badge no. 4743 (not 4374) and whose last name was A. 28.  On 12 November 2013 the Deputy State Attorney interviewed officers B.M. and B.R. B.M. said that on 2 November 2012 the police had received information that the applicant had been procuring heroin and selling it on in the Biograd na Moru and Zadar area. B.M. had been working that day with officers B.R., J.P. and F.Z. They had noticed the applicant with V.P. in a vehicle which had been parked in the car park of a supermarket in Biograd na Moru. The applicant had left the vehicle and entered the supermarket while V.P. had stayed inside it. B.M. and B.R. had approached the vehicle, identified themselves to V.P. who had then left the vehicle and thrown away a plastic bag which had contained about fifty grams of heroin. V.P. had not put up any resistance and had been handed over to officers J.P. and F.Z. who had placed him in the police vehicle. B.M. and B.R. had approached the applicant inside the supermarket and identified themselves. Since there had been some customers in the supermarket the officers had not resorted to handcuffing the applicant but had instead taken the applicant by the arm and escorted him towards the exit. The applicant had verbally expressed his discontent but when inside the supermarket had not physically resisted the officers. B.M. had held the applicant by one of his wrists. When they had left the supermarket the applicant had made a sudden movement to free himself and had attempted to flee. Officer B.M. had caught up with him and applied a leg sweep technique. Officer B.R. had also then caught up with the applicant who had then fallen to the ground, together with officers B.M. and B.R. While on the ground the applicant had fiercely and aggressively resisted the officers, attempting to get up and flee. That had lasted for about three to four minutes. It had been difficult for the officers to hold the applicant down, as he had weighed about 90 kilograms. B.M. admitted that in responding to the applicant’s fierce resistance he might have hit him once or twice in order to prevent him from fleeing. His intention however had not been to hurt him. After the applicant had been overcome, he had been restrained and there had been no further hitting or ill-treatment. B.M. also stated that the officers’ conduct in respect of the applicant had been completely professional and that the use of force against the applicant had been “unavoidable”. The officers had been cautious since they had known the applicant as a drug dealer and had had to ensure that he did not flee and destroy the evidence. B.M. also said that officer S.K. had never worked with them. B.R. described the incident in the same terms as officer B.M. As regards the specific moment when the applicant and two officers had fallen to the ground he said that the situation had become really messy because the applicant had put very strong resistance to fight them off. Officer B.R. admitted that in the commotion he or officer B.M. had hit the applicant on the head but neither of them had had any intention to hurt the applicant. The commotion on the ground had lasted for about three to four minutes after which the officers had managed to overcome and handcuff the applicant. He also stressed that there had been a risk of the applicant fleeing and destroying the evidence. 29.  On 26 November 2013 the State Attorney’s Office dismissed the complaint on the basis of statements taken from the police officers involved as well as from officers, the applicant’s allegations and the medical documentation enclosed. It found that officers B.M. and B.R. had had no intention of causing serious injuries to the applicant. The decision relied on the officers’ assertion that during his arrest the applicant had put up strong resistance and that the force used against him had been necessary. The applicant was informed of his right to take over the prosecution by lodging an indictment against the accused within eight days. 30.  The applicant then took over the prosecution. 31.  On 10 December 2013 the applicant asked for an investigation into the matter. He lodged an indictment with the Zadar Municipal Court the following day, against officers B.R., B.M. and S.K. He repeated his allegations and requested that the accused, V.P. and the security guards of a supermarket on duty at the critical time be questioned, and that a forensic report be ordered in order to establish how his injuries had been caused. 32.  The applicant’s request for an investigation was dismissed on 11 June 2014 by a Zadar County Court investigating judge on the grounds that the officers involved had had no intention of causing serious bodily injuries to him. No further witnesses were questioned and no reasons were given in that regard. 33.  The applicant appealed on 16 June 2014. He argued that the relevant facts surrounding his arrest had not been assessed, that no evidence had been collected and that it was for the State authorities to prove that the injuries he had sustained during his arrest had not been caused by the police. The appeal was dismissed on 30 June 2014 by a three-judge panel of the Zadar County Court on the grounds that the perforated eardrum the applicant had suffered during his arrest did not amount to a serious bodily injury. 34.  A subsequent constitutional complaint lodged by the applicant was declared inadmissible on 21 October 2014 by the Constitutional Court for lack of competence on the grounds that it did not concern his civil rights and obligations or a criminal charge against him. 35.  On 11 December 2013 the applicant lodged an indictment with the Zadar Municipal Court against B.R., B.M. and S.K. on charges of causing serious bodily injury. 36.  It was declared inadmissible on 30 April 2014 on the grounds that it did not contain all the relevant information, namely that the accused had not given any oral evidence beforehand, as required by law. 37.  On 9 May 2014 the applicant lodged an appeal, arguing that when his criminal complaint had been dismissed by the State Attorney’s Office on 26 November 2013 he had been instructed to take over the prosecution by lodging an indictment within eight days. He had complied with that time‑limit and had also on 11 December 2014 asked the Zadar County Court to take oral evidence from the accused. The appeal was dismissed on 4 February 2015 on the grounds that the accused had not given any evidence beforehand.