High-profile killings turn spotlight on police

  • 2002-02-14
  • Jorgen Johansson
RIGA - A prominent businessman has been killed in the Latvian town of Valmiera, the latest in a string of high-profile murders that have drawn accusations of police incompetence.

Edgars Capus, president of the Latvian-Australian company Valpro Corp. was shot four times in the chest and once in the head on his way to work on Feb. 7.

Within days, state police chief Juris Reksna and state secretary of the Ministry of Interior Andris Staris offered to resign.

Interior Minister Mareks Seglins refused to accept the resignations, saying both men needed instead to concentrate on investigative work.

Capus is the third well-known businessman to be murdered in Latvia in recent weeks.

On Jan. 28, a supermarket owner was shot dead in the capital, and on Feb. 1 Andrejs Simanis, the owner of a sawmill, was murdered.

Prime Minister Andris Berzins said in an interview with Latvijas Radio on Feb. 7 that he was not pleased with the current situation in the country's national police force.

"I have talked to the interior minister seriously and voiced dissatisfaction with police work," Berzins said.

Seglins also criticized the police investigations of the murders. He said crimes like the Capus murder gave criminals a sense of untouchability.

Oskars Grigs, a member of the Parliament's defense and interior affairs committee, called the government "toothless."

"This 'abscess' has swelled to the point that it requires declaring an emergency situation in the country," he said.

An association of business people in Valmiera has posted a 10,000 lat ($15,500) reward for information leading to the arrest of Capus' killer.

Police said Capus' killing was possibly related to his work and that they were working on several leads.