After footage showing a restaurant owner hitting a stroller and being arrested, lawyer Luka Lenić warns that the police have mechanisms for faster action without lengthy court proceedings.
Footage from Primošten showing a restaurant owner hitting a stroller sparked a wave of public reactions, and after the suspect's arrest, Zagreb-based lawyer and former head of the Traffic Police Station Luka Lenić spoke out. According to him, the police already have legal tools to respond quickly to such cases without waiting for lengthy court proceedings.
Lenic told Jutarnji list that the Road Traffic Safety Act has for years allowed the police to refer drivers for an extraordinary medical examination if there is reasonable suspicion that, due to health reasons, they are no longer capable of safely operating a vehicle. Such an examination can result in shortening the validity of the driving license, imposing restrictions, or, in more serious cases, its complete revocation. Lenic believes the police should apply this measure more frequently to individuals who exhibit violent or dangerous patterns of behavior.
The lawyer did not stop at legal analysis but also pointed to a broader dimension of the case.
"If this particular delinquent is willing to show violence towards a stroller, which quite expectedly contains a child, the question arises what he is willing to do to 'less innocent' individuals,"Lenic warned. In his opinion, precisely such extraordinary examination measures would have a strong preventive effect and should be used more often in similar situations.
The Municipality of Primošten issued a statement firmly condemning any form of aggressive, threatening, or inappropriate behavior towards guests at hospitality establishments. The statement reads: "If the footage faithfully depicts what happened, this is behavior that causes serious concern and requires an urgent review of all circumstances by the competent institutions. Every incident that could have endangered people's safety must be thoroughly investigated, and the public has the right to be promptly and accurately informed about it."
Primošten is a coastal town in Šibenik-Knin County that attracts a large number of tourists every year, especially during the summer months. Incidents between restaurant owners and guests during the season are not unheard of, but this case has drawn exceptional attention due to the nature of the violence, as the target was a stroller. The footage spread quickly on social media and sparked public outrage, prompting experts like Lenic to join the discussion on available legal mechanisms.
The suspect, the restaurant owner, was arrested, but the further course of the proceedings at the time of this article's publication is not known in detail. Lenic emphasizes that the application of extraordinary medical examinations should be considered as a measure in such cases, regardless of the outcome of the criminal or misdemeanor proceedings. Whether the relevant institutions will follow this proposal remains an open question.
