Sibiu Police chief resigns after dead bear fiasco

Sibiu Police chief Cristian Negru announced on Monday evening that he would resign from this position. The decision came after the local authorities in Sibiu shot dead a bear that was wandering the city’s streets. The incident has raised many negative reactions in social media, and even President Klaus Iohannis criticized the way local authorities handled this case. The Police chief explained that he resigned to rule out any doubt that he may try to temper with the investigation of this incidend, considering his position in the Police. He also said that his family had been threatened. “I received an anonymous phone call in which I was told that my children would be kidnapped, and that they will be subjected to the same treatment as the bear. In nearly 18 years of activity I haven’t received so many threats as I have in the last 12 hours,” the Police chief said. Negru admitted that he was the one who decided to have the bear killed, but he said that he was only taking the responsibility, not the guilt for this decision. “The investigating authority is the only one that can establish guilt,” he said during a press conference. Related to the information that he had ordered police officers on the street to hit the bear with the police car, Cristian Neagu said that he didn't give such an order. Traffic Police officer Marian Godina first wrote on his Facebook page that the Sibiu Police chief allegedly told the policemen to hit the bear with the car. Then, interior minister Dragos Tudorache confirmed the information on Monday. Romanian interior minister Dragos Tudorache said on Monday that the authorities in Sibiu acted hastily when killing the bear last week. The animal was killed when there was no “immediate danger anymore.” Moreover, there was a veterinary at the scene, which could have tried to tranquilize the bear one more time. President Klaus Iohannis also criticized the way the authorities in Sibiu reacted in this situation. He said he was astounded and saddened by the way the animal was killed and said that procedures needed to be created for cases like this. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com