Police Officers Removed After Kyriaki Griva Murder Outside Athens Precinct

Six police officers were removed from duty at an Athens police station on Wednesday after the femicide of 28-year-old Kyriaki Griva by her ex-boyfriend just outside the precinct.

Griva had remained for eight minutes inside the Agioi Anargyroi police station requesting protection. She asked for a patrol car to take her home, but because she declined to make a formal complaint, she was directed to phone the police emergency line to send a vehicle.

“The police car is not a taxi,” the emergency dispatch operator told her when she had requested a police escort shortly before the 39-year-old attacker appeared and pounced on her.

The call center operator is now the subject of a police investigation and faces criminal and administrative charges.

Alongside the call center operator, five more police officers have been removed pending further investigation. They include the station chief, the policewoman on duty, the supervisor who was also deputy chief, her driver, and a guard who was on duty at the time.

Kyriaki Griva’s last phone call to the police

A recording on her conversation with the police and a video showing her former partner attacking her was widely reported by the media on Wednesday. The woman’s request for an escort to her house, by calling the 100 emergency number, was turned down shortly before she was attacked.

“The recording that has been publicized was sent intact by the police itself [and] was turned over yesterday by the police itself to the prosecutor and the person carrying out an internal investigation for the Hellenic Police,” police sources said.

Specifically, they said that “the officer at phone duty being heard speaking with the victim has been removed from his position, and is under investigation by Hellenic Police and facing criminal and administrative charges, while the chief of the Agioi Anargyroi police station is being replaced.”

“It should be noted that the recording is part of the case file and that the investigation for all involved parties already began,” it was said. “Everyone is being questioned in detail, both in the police department and at the 100 call center, while depositions have been received from everyone.”

Police sources say that by Friday after the preliminary investigation is completed, all evidence will be sent to the prosecutor for the latter to summon individuals for testimonies.

Police guide for domestic violence

In August 2021, a guide with instructions for police response to incidents of domestic violence was distributed internally throughout Greece.

It explicitly states that going to a police station is one of the most common ways of making a complaint but does not include any protocol for the safe transport of citizens to their homes. Some issues appear to be left informally to the discretion of police officers.

Based on what is known so far, the instructions included in the guide were ignored on Monday night.

The guide clarifies that domestic violence is prosecuted ex officio, and that a complaint or even a simple report is sufficient for the provisions of the law to apply. It is stressed that “all the competent police services must act immediately.”