Police Muggings Investigated
The police are there to protect us from the criminals. However, a number of foreigners living in Costa Rica, have found first hand that being robbed by the police is much better than being robbed by thugs.

"At least you don't get hurt when the police rob you", Juan (not his real name) told insidecostarica.com, after his run in with police thieves on Avenida 1, one block sought of the Plaza de la Cultura, Thursday night.

Juan, as many foreigners did not make a report, feeling that loosing the ¢6.000 colones (us$11.65) was not worth the trouble.

However, Frank Nitsche, a tourist in Costa Rica, felt otherwise and now the Ministerio de Seguridad (Security ministry) is investigating the actions of four Fuerza Pública (poice) officials, who Nitcshe says they beat him and robbed him.

The man made his complaint to the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) - the judicial investigative branch of justice - and another to the Inspección Policial del Ministerio de Seguridad - internal affairs department of Seguridad.

Nitsche says that the four police officials took his personal belongings for inspection by never returned them. Among the belongings were his European Union driver's license, ¢300.000 colones (us$581) in cash, credit cars and an expensive cellular phone.

The foreigner brought along a photo of the police units that were involved in the search and detention that occurred in downtown San José on Friday last week. Include in his documentation for the complaint was a medical certificate that explained his injuries at the hands of the police aggressors.

In the case of Juan, he remembers clearly the number of the unit that the police officers were driving - 687, a "paddy wagon" unit that is used to patrol the downtown streets - but did not get the badge numbers of the officers involved.