Police Operation Turns Bloody in Kutaisi
Five people were killed during a recent special police operation in Kutaisi. Three of them were police officers, one a criminal, and one an ordinary citizen.
An gun battle developed during an attempt by local law enforcement officers to detain an organized criminal group wanted for auto theft. According to police, the suspects fired first. Five policemen were wounded during an exchange of gunfire, two of them, Roman Robakidze and George Khatishvili, died at the scene, and another one died today in the hospital. One suspect, Giga Cheishvili, was also killed. He had been wanted by the police for three years. Another suspect, Mikheil Cherkezia, who had recently escaped from the second strict regime penitentiary facility in Rustavi, was wounded, but managed to evade police and flee from the scene.