During a breathalyzer check

A bunch of keys thrown at Viennese police officers

The defendant (30) with his defense lawyer before his trial at the Vienna Regional Court.

(Bild: Pratschner Sophie, Krone KREATIV)

A different kind of official act: a 30-year-old architect was the first to try to bribe Viennese officers and when that didn't work, "he behaved like a toddler". It seems that the twelve beers he had drunk beforehand were - at least partly - responsible for this.

The operation by Viennese officers on February 21 at the border to Perchtoldsdorf (Lower Austria) began completely inconspicuously: a white van reversed over a barrier line, followed by a vehicle check - including an alcohol test. "The accused was already shaky when he got out of the car," recalls one of the police officers. From then on, it became an official act of a different kind. 

Police officers offered 1000 euros
"He offered us 50 euros so that he wouldn't have to blow. I explained to him that it didn't work that way for us. At some point we reached 1000 euros. We then made it clear to him that it wouldn't work like that in our country," explained the officer on the witness stand. The 30-year-old Ukrainian listens patiently in the dock. Behind him is his defense lawyer Leonhard Kregcjk, who tries to explain that such a procedure is commonplace in his client's home country: "There is simply a lot of corruption there."

You have to put up with twelve beers in four and a half hours, even with her stature.

Richter im Wiener Landesgericht

But that wasn't all: the trained architect was finally persuaded to take the breathalyzer test - "That was quite a high value," said the officer. The 30-year-old confessed that he had drunk a dozen beers with work colleagues shortly before the test. Which amazed the judge: "Twelve beers in four and a half hours is something you have to put up with, even with your stature." The 30-year-old was therefore not allowed to continue driving.

"He behaved like a toddler"
And that didn't suit him at all. "What does alcohol do after so much beer? He just doesn't behave as he should. He behaved like a toddler." He threw his bunch of keys - containing 15 keys - at the officers three times. Repeated admonishments proved futile: "He had no understanding." When the police officers allowed him to get something out of his car, he defiantly remained sitting in the vehicle, clinging to the steering wheel and seats with all his might. 

Not the first confrontation with the police
Three of them finally managed to arrest him. An arduous official act - summarizes the witness. The Ukrainian was incredibly sorry about it, but it was not an isolated incident. "He's on the right track, but the fact that he's already been convicted twice is an obstacle," the public prosecutor mentions the defendant's previous convictions, also for resisting public authority.

This time he sentenced him to 18 months conditional imprisonment and a fine of 10,800 euros - not legally binding. He had already undergone violence therapy before the trial. "He also no longer drinks a sip of alcohol," reports defense lawyer Kregcjk.