MAKARATZIS v. GREECE JUDGMENT 15 from the weapons of two of the accused. However, it had not been shown beyond a reasonable doubt that these officers had injured the applicant, given that many other shots had been fired from unidentified weapons. As regards the second charge (unauthorised use of weapons), the court held that the police officers had used their weapons for no other purpose than trying to stop a car whose driver they reasonably considered to be a dangerous criminal. The relevant passages of the court’s judgment read as follows: “On 13 September 1995 the victim, Christos Makaratzis, was driving a private vehicle with the number plate YIM 8837 in Athens in the area around the American embassy. At the junction of Telonos and Kokkali Streets, a unit of the special police control division of the Flying Squad of Attica was carrying out checks on passing cars. The accused Mahairas, Souliotis and Ventouris were part of this unit. The victim’s vehicle was coming from the direction of the hospital; he drove through a red light and the accused Souliotis signalled to him to stop. Instead of stopping at the signal made by the traffic warden, however, he continued driving towards him and almost hit him. The police crew got into their car immediately and began chasing him. At Vassilissis Sofias Street he entered the oncoming lane and drove through a red light. Because of the traffic, the police officers lost the car, which they were chasing with their flashing lights on, and met with it again near the War Museum. They flashed their lights at the driver in order for him to stop; the siren and the flashing lights of the police car were on. Initially the victim turned his hazard lights on, as if he were going to stop the car. However, he suddenly accelerated and drove off. He reached Sintagma near the flower shops; he entered the oncoming lane at Amalias Street and continued towards Siggrou Avenue. The police car informed the Flying Squad control centre, and the control centre notified other units that were on duty in the area in which the victim was moving, in order for them to come and assist. At Siggrou Avenue the car was moving at a very high speed from one lane to the other. Near Kallirois Street the driver almost collided with a police car; at the traffic lights at Diogenis Palace he drove through a red light, entered the oncoming lane and collided with a car. At Trokadero there was a roadblock formed by a police car, two motorcycles and fifteen civilian cars, which he got past by driving on the pavement, and the crew of the police car were almost run over. At Flisvos he collided with a Daihatsu that was stationary, caused it to turn upside down, injuring the driver, and on Amfitheas Street he collided with a car and a taxi, whose driver was injured. At the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets there was a police car in the side street, and the cars moving towards Glifada had been blocked. The victim drove over the central reservation towards the right, in order to head towards the side street, but then he noticed the police car and drove over the central reservation towards the left and collided with two cars that were crossing Posidonos Street and almost ran over Police Constable Stroumpoulis. The first gunshots directed at the pursued car, which were fired in order to stop the victim, were heard at the junction of Posidonos and Kalamakiou Streets. It was in that area that the accused Mahairas, who was riding in the police car and had been chasing the vehicle from the beginning, fired a burst of shots when the car was at a distance of approximately 5 metres, with his firearm no. MP 5 C273917, because the car was moving. He aimed at the rear right tyre. The accused Souliotis, who was riding in the same police car, fired from the left window, with his pistol no. AO 38275, aiming at the rear left tyre, which he punctured. Near that junction the victim had to slow down. Many police officers had reached that spot and occupied both lanes; other police officers, besides those already mentioned, also fired at the car, as many gunshots were fired at that spot. It is also to be noted that, during the entire course, policemen, police