He Filmed People Waiting in the Heat and Stood Up for Croatia
Eric Mišić faces a misdemeanor charge for filming inside the Karlovac Police Department, while witnesses corroborate his account and the police stand by their version.
Eric Mišić faces a misdemeanor charge for filming inside the Karlovac Police Department, while witnesses corroborate his account and the police stand by their version.
Eric Mišić (27) from Karlovac became the center of a national debate after he entered the Karlovac Police Department premises in early August and filmed citizens waiting outside in the scorching heat. His video sparked a wave of reactions, and he now faces legal consequences, with support from part of the public.
The police confirmed they will file a misdemeanor charge against the 27-year-old with the Municipal Court in Karlovac for disturbing public order and peace and unauthorized filming. However, Mišić says in a new video that he does not regret his actions.
"Let it go, I don't regret it. As for the police conduct, I can only praise their professionalism," Mišić told Kaportal, adding that he was prepared for the consequences. "I consciously decided to speak out here because of the injustice."
The incident occurred on Thursday, August 6, 2026. Mišić came with his mother to pick up their ID cards and driver's licenses. Outside the building, he estimated there were between 30 and 40 people waiting in the sun.
After taking a queue number, he claims a clerk told him to go outside, and he heard the same instruction given to other citizens. When he noticed the heat was bothering his mother, he re-entered and asked for an explanation. "I asked, 'Excuse me, ma'am, why can't we go inside?' She said it was because the air conditioning wasn't working," he told Kaportal. He then began filming with his phone, and after being warned that filming was not allowed, he left the room and called on other citizens to enter.
The Karlovac Police Department presented a significantly different account. According to their statement, on August 6, the cooling system in the entire building broke down, and the fault was not fixed until the next day. Due to high temperatures and large glass surfaces, the service hall became very hot and stuffy, so citizens, the police claim, mostly decided on their own to wait outside. They also emphasize that the entrance was open at all times and that they gave priority to elderly and infirm individuals and parents with small children. The Karlovac Police Department also apologized to citizens who had to wait in high temperatures due to the air conditioning failure.
The police also state that Mišić entered the premises around 10:15 a.m., loudly complained, then re-entered, shouted at the staff, and filmed the interior with his phone, despite a sign at the entrance prohibiting filming.
However, three witnesses who later came forward paint a completely opposite picture. Hrvoje Stanišić claims the air conditioning in the room was working properly. "Before, during, and after the said event, the air conditioning was working fine. The room was normally cooled, airy, and extremely comfortable, which was a stark contrast to the heat outside," he told Index.hr.
Stanišić adds that citizens did not decide on their own to wait outside the building. "Immediately after taking queue tickets, the staff directly instructed citizens to leave the room and wait outside for their turn. All parties entered the building only at Mr. Mišić's invitation," he stated. His claims were corroborated by Mario Klemenčić and Martina Pevec Zorić, who were also in the administrative offices that day.
Klemenčić explained that he was there between 8:30 and 9:15 a.m.: "The air conditioning was on, and the room was pleasantly cool. The staff immediately told everyone who took a number to go outside and wait for their turn. No one had priority to enter, not the elderly, not children, nor anyone else; everyone entered according to their queue number."
In an interview with Kaportal, Eric Mišić does not hide that his past is not spotless. "I'm not a saint; I've had problems..." he said, alluding to earlier run-ins with the law from which, as he says, he escaped largely thanks to sports and his coaches, especially gymnastics coach Marijan Šančić.
Today, he works as a tennis coach at the Sporty Tennis School, and in winter, he worked as a security guard at the Hintertux ski resort in Austria. His father, Ratko Mišić Miško, was a well-known and beloved bartender in Karlovac who passed away three years ago. He mentioned his father as a key figure in his life.
"My Miško. He was my dad, brother, and best friend all in one. I hope he's proud of me up there somewhere," he said emotionally to Kaportal. Mišić also recounted how his family faced financial difficulties about fifteen years ago, forcing his mother to go work in Germany, leaving him with his father during his most sensitive teenage years, largely raising himself.
Although aware that legal proceedings await him, Mišić claims he has nothing against the police officers themselves. "I have nothing against the police conduct; they were kind, courteous, and just doing their job-everything the ladies behind the counters weren't doing, and that's the point of this whole story," he concluded.
