Chief of the Police Was Shot in His Office

Davit Tabutsadze, the Chief of the Shida Kartli Police was attacked by Mamuka Imerlishvili, the head of one of the divisions in the Police Department. Imerlishvili burst into Tabutsadze's office and shot at him seven times without hitting him once.

Imerlishvili is now wanted for attempted murder. Gori District Court tried and convicted him in absentia. According to the information, police are allowed to shoot to kill if they find Imerlishvili.

Tabutsadze, has just been appointed to the position of chief. Previously, he was the chief of the Kakheti Police Department. Officials from the Kakheti Police Department have been transferred to the Shida Kartli department frequently over the last year.
For example, Paata Giorgadze worked as a chief of the Kakheti Patrol Police and in spring 2005 was moved to Shida Kartli and then to the Tbilisi Police Department. Finally, he was appointed the head of Imereti Police Department in his native region.

In Shida Kartli, Davit Bordaveli replaced Paata Giorgadze, and Bordaveli was subsequently replaced by Davit Tabutsadze. Tabutsadze's appointment in Kakheti happened when Giorgi Khachidze, a police officer from Khashuri, was placed under investigation. He was eventually charged with the illegal purchase of weapons. After that, Davit Tabutsadze became the chief of the Shida Kartli Police Department. He is the person, who the President Mikheil Saakashvili declared as a hero for having saved a man who had fallen in the Mtkvari River. Tabutsadze was given the nickname in Kakheti, "Efendi", which means sir in Turkish.

Early in November 2006, Tabutsadze put the Human Resource Division in charge of the whole police staff. Soon after this, on November 21, Mamuka Imerlishvili fired at Tabutsadze in his office. After firing the bullets, Imerlishvili fled the scene. The chief of the police then called the General Inspector of the Interior Ministry. The Shida Kartli Prosecutor, Zurab Egadze, is now investigating the case. Egadze is a supervising prosecutor for the Shida Kartli Police Department. Egadze has also had some arguments with Tabutsidze.

The difficulties started on the religious holiday, Mtavarangelozoba. In the evening, Imerlishvili and his friends went to the restaurant, Zmebis Dukani, to celebrate the holiday. At the restaurant, Tabutsadze appeared and publicly rebuked Imerlishvili for having a party. As a result, Imerlishvili called off the party and returned to the police station to explain the incident. However, Imerlishvili, instead of talking to Tabutsadze, stormed into his boss's office and began shooting. 

That evening did not end with that incident. Later, Egadze arrived at the police station in another officer's vehicle. Tabutsadze died not approve of Egadze sitting in a police vehicle. Tabutsadze asked, "What is this civilian doing in a police car?" Egadze showed his prosecutor's identification papers. However, Tabutsadze wanted to know why Egadze was not in uniform. 

In a word, there is great discord in the Shida Kartli police department. They even joke that "Efendi" has fired Bordaveli's people. The Police Department will hire new recruits soon.

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori