AKP MP under fire for insulting policemen during traffic control
A deputy of the ruling AKP has come under fire for treating a police officer with disrespect during a traffic control where she's heard insulting the officer. The officers were suspended shortly after the AKP member harassed them and asked them their names.
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Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Zeynep Gül Yılmaz came under fire after footage of her harassing police officers during a traffic control emerged.
Yılmaz is seen asking a police officer his name during the traffic control where the officer is seen telling the lawmaker that her vehicle had been reported to law enforcement and that it wasn't registered as a deputy's vehicle.
Yılmaz is then heard insulting the officer, calling him a prick and telling the officer she didn't need to "deal with this crap," referring to the regular control.
"She had two of our officers suspended on the eve of a holiday!" wrote main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Ali Mahir Başarır of the footage taken on July 18.
The Turkish word for "prick" became a trending topic on Twitter alongside the phrase "I stand with my police," as the public showed their support for law enforcement in the face of the deputy's harassment.
The AKP deputy failed to issue an apology immediately following the backlash and instead said that she was victimized by the officers who made her wait for half an hour in an unlawful fashion despite showing them her ID card.
"I'm sad... I wish the public opinion hadn't been taken up by such an issue," Yılmaz said. "I leave it up to our glorious nation."
The protest against her conduct grew, with disapproval rising even from among the ranks of her own party, with former AKP deputy Şamil Tayyar urging her to apologize.
The police officers didn't have good intentions, which was clear in the fact that they made her wait for half an hour and recorded the interaction, Tayyar said.
"However, this doesn't justify the deputy's insults like 'don't yap, your spit is entering the car, prick,'" Tayyar added. "This conduct is not becoming of a virtuous AKP member, she should apologize."
Speaking on a YouTube broadcast by journalist Cüneyt Özdemir, the deputy claimed that she had her beacon while going home because her kid had been sick.
The deputy maintained that the police's conduct was unlawful, noting the fact that the officers recorded the incident as proof of their misconduct.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those words even if I'd been made to wait there for a whole day. I apologize to our public for saying those words," Yılmaz said on the YouTube broadcast.
Yılmaz also insisted that she had no part in the suspension of the officers, and said that it was the police superiors who found the punishment fitting.
The Mersin Governor's Office also released a statement saying that the officers' conduct was wrong and that an investigation had been launched into the policemen.