A woman expressed her gratitude towards several officers from the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the Public Security Police (PSP) for their “exemplary” intervention following a robbery involving her son on July 4.
In a note of thanks shared by the police on Facebook, the woman detailed that her son was robbed “on his way home after visiting a shopping center.”
At that moment, “he was approached by an individual who grabbed him by the arm,” and “shortly after, two more youths joined them, with all three acting together.”
“They took him off the main road to a more secluded area with arches between buildings and robbed him of his iPhone and AirPods. The phone was immediately unlocked, and my son’s account was erased, allowing them total control of the device. Before letting him go, they threatened him not to say anything to anyone,” explained the woman.
However, after freeing himself, the son “ran into a street store where he sought help from a shopkeeper and asked them to call 112.”
Police officers arrived “within minutes” and “promptly and efficiently” began their efforts.
While still inside the police vehicle, “an active search began on adjacent streets,” with the victim “attempting to identify the assailants,” and it was possible to track the AirPods’ location, leading to “various areas in Lisbon, including Benfica, Sete Rios, Avenida 5 de Outubro, Entrecampos, and Campo Pequeno.”
The officers attempted to reach the indicated locations “despite heavy rush hour traffic” and maintained “constant communication with colleagues on the ground and their station, relaying the suspects’ location and physical description, allowing for a coordinated and effective response.”
The victim eventually recognized the assailants “in a busy square,” and the officers “immediately stopped the vehicle,” running and intercepting “the three individuals, who still attempted to flee.”
“Thanks to the firm and exemplary actions of the officers, the suspects were effectively immobilized. Several other PSP officers, already on alert, quickly arrived at the scene, all contributing to ensure the security and success of the operation,” the woman explained.
According to the note, the suspects still had the stolen items in their possession and were taken to the police station.
The woman also recalled “an incident at the time of the suspects’ arrest,” where “a lady at the scene began filming the police intervention and, without understanding the operation’s context, approached the officers disrespectfully, questioning the legitimacy of their actions.”
The woman, “displaying an authoritarian attitude, accused the officers of acting disproportionately, completely ignoring the fact that they were arresting the perpetrators of a recent robbery.”
It was the son who “had to intervene and clarify that he was the crime victim.” Nevertheless, “even faced with such an unjustified and out-of-context confrontation, the PSP maintained a highly professional stance, for which I offer my public acknowledgment.”
“It was thanks to the dedication, competence, and sense of mission of the involved officers that the security of my son, the recovery of stolen goods, and the arrest of the crime’s perpetrators were ensured,” concluded the woman in her note of thanks.
