A microbus driver was shot dead on Monday by a low-ranking police officer on the Autostrad in the Basateen area of south Cairo, in an incident that officials have described as accidental.
According to a statement by the Interior Ministry's information center, a brawl occurred between the victim and another driver. The police officer intervened, firing a warning shot in the air that killed the victim by mistake, said the statement.
The police officer has been arrested and referred to the public prosecution for interrogation.
The incident is the latest in a series of incidents of violent — sometimes deadly — confrontations between citizens and police officers, with several allegations of deliberate police abuse.
In February 2016, a low-ranking police officer killed a 24-year-old driver in Cairo's Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood, ignighting protests that saw roads blocked and nearby security headquarters surrounded.
In January, the Doctors' Syndicate called on the government to bring the police under control after claims that police officers had attacked doctors in hospitals on several occasions.
Activists and lawyers have accused police and security personnel of acting with impunity, and demanded that the government take action to protect citizens.
However, the Interior Ministry has typically responded by describing the incidents as “individual cases”, saying that the perpetrators are dealt with as criminal suspects, according to the law.
New amendments to the Police Law were passed by parliament in August, banning police officers from abusing their authority by ill-treating civilians in a manner that goes against the law and constitution.
Police violations were among the main triggers of the January 25 revolution that toppled Former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
