Another Visit to the Police Station

There has been an investigation going on regarding the assault incident on July 4 and I've been called back to the police station for further questioning. I arrived at the police building around 9:00 am on Saturday with the Fluor security director (who is fluent in Russian) and one of our staff interpreters. The building has no signs from what I could see. We went into the front office of the police station. There were locked cages on either side in the lobby with benches, one of which was occupied by a young fellow laying down and apparently sleeping off the ill effects of the previous night. Our security officer explained who we were and the police officer directed us to the next building which must have housed the investigative units. We walked to the fourth floor and found the room. The investigator was a lady in her early 40's, blond with hot pink highlights in her hair. I took her for an admistrative assistant at first, but, as the questioning began, she impressed me as being thoroughly trained, competent, pleasant in demeaner, and very forthright (one time offering up a very mild expletive when there seemed to turn up a slight contradiction in my testimony). Quite simply, I was asked to re-count in exquisite detail the entire chain of events of that night, which were then compared to the transcript of the testimony I had provided on the night of the assault. The investigator was also focussed on the precise amount of the loss, as that would affect the nature of the charges that would be brought against the suspect. Near the end, I was shown a photo of the suspect but I could not positively identify him since I had never really laid eyes on his face. The investigator asked me to describe what I saw of him, which was from the back) and it did match the suspect, particulary the fact that he had a darker skin, hair and eye complexion -features know in this part of the world as "caucasion" (not to be confused with the term used for one's race), meaning origins from the caucasas region of southern Russia, a region of mixed middle eastern and european origin. These people tend to be lower on the economic scale, often found in criminal enterprise, and sometimes the targets of police action. Witness Russia's actions against Chechnya, which is part of that region. It is a source of some internal problems in Russia.


At the end of the session, I was asked to return yet a third time to face the suspect, at which time the investigator is asking us both questions. I felt very uncomfortable with this arrangement and made my feelings known. I did not want the suspect to have a clear picture of my face. Although he probably can still recognize me in a crowd, I did not want to make it easier for him. The investigaor explained I was not compelled by law to do this, and I accordingly declined.


I need to go back to the station a final time on Monday, accompanied by David, my co-worker and interpreter of that night, to read the final statement, have my passport, Visa and immigration card copied, and sign all of the documents. The file is about an inch thick and I felt the investigation was very thorough. I did learn that the suspect claimed there was only $50 in the wallet whereas I have declared there was much more, the total contents of American and Russian currency, together with the wallet, coming to 13,200 rubles, or about $430. I believe the police may have my wallet and I may get it on Monday. If that's the case, score a victory for the Russian police.


I asked our security director in the car afterwards whether my case had been treated with more diligence since I was an expat. He wasn't sure, he said physical assault was always taken seriously, but I have to think this case against an American may have demanded some additional attention. What struck me the most is my perception that, in America, this case would barely have been investigated unless I wanted to first "press charges", and even then I wonder how much our police would have acted. Here I was quite content to accept my loss and forget about it, but the police did the investigation regardless of any real move on my part.