/ 4 June 2007

Ill-fated breakfast trip gets motorist shot by cop

A Greek police officer in the northern city of Salonika has been arrested for shooting a motorist who double parked his car to grab breakfast, a police source said on Monday.

The incident happened early on Sunday morning in Oreokastro, a quiet suburb of Greece’s northern capital.

The victim and a friend were in the process of ordering coffee and cheese pies when the officer — who was off-duty and was not wearing his uniform — demanded that they remove the illegally parked vehicle, the source said.

An argument ensued, and the officer pulled out his duty-issue handgun and shot one of the men in the thigh.

He subsequently radioed in back-up, told his colleagues who arrived in a squad car to arrest the two men, and made off.

The victim was hospitalised but his wound is not life-threatening, the local police department said in a statement.

The officer was later arrested and will be taken before a prosecutor. — AFP