Man in His 60s Throws Flowerpot from Apartment Balcony, Then Grabs Police Officer by the Collar and Assaults Him After Arrest [True Crime]

[Financial News] At around 5:10 p.m. on August 6, Kim, 62, who was on the balcony of an apartment in Guro-gu, Seoul, threw a glass flowerpot out through a window. The flowerpot, about 20 cm long and about 14 cm high, was thrown onto a road near the apartment.
Kim, who was arrested while committing the offense, was taken to the integrated investigation duty room at Seoul Guro Police Station. Even after arriving at the station, he caused a disturbance, including hurling insults at police officers, and was eventually handcuffed.
At around 8:30 p.m. that same day, Kim told Captain A of Guro Police Station that he needed to use the toilet.
When Captain A readily removed the cuff from one of Kim’s hands without suspicion, Kim asked him to remove the cuff from his other hand as well.
When Captain A refused, Kim became furious, forcefully shoved him in the chest, then grabbed him by the collar and assaulted him.
According to legal circles on the 2nd, the Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division 12, a single-judge panel presided over by Judge Seo Young-woo, sentenced Kim on the 14th of last month to eight months in prison and a fine of 100,000 won for obstructing official duties and violating the Minor Offenses Act. The panel imposed a fine for throwing the flowerpot and a prison sentence for assaulting a police officer and obstructing the performance of official duties.
The panel ruled, “He threw an object without taking sufficient care in a place where it could harm another person,” and “also obstructed the legitimate performance of police officers’ duties in preventing and suppressing crime and conducting investigations.”
During the trial, Kim’s side argued that he “suffers from vascular dementia.” But the panel said, “The evidence submitted to date is insufficient to establish that the defendant was in a state of diminished ability to discern things and make decisions,” adding, “We do not accept the claim of diminished mental capacity.”
The panel noted that “the defendant bears serious culpability in light of the circumstances surrounding the series of offenses.” In particular, regarding the change in the charge for throwing the flowerpot from attempted aggravated injury to a violation of the Minor Offenses Act, it stressed, “Regardless of the charge, the fact remains that this was an extremely dangerous crime.”
However, the panel explained its sentencing decision, saying, “The defendant’s dementia appears to have affected the offense to some extent,” and “we also considered the defendant’s age and character, the motive for the offense, and the means used and the consequences.”
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