site.btaRuse Police Chief Severely Beaten after Confronting Reckless Drivers - Mayor

The chief of police in Ruse, on the Danube, Senior Commissioner Nikolay Kozhuharov, is in critical condition in hospital after being brutally attacked on Wednesday night, following a confrontation with a group of men allegedly drifting their cars recklessly, according to a Facebook post by Ruse Mayor Pencho Milkov Thursday. "I am shocked and furious. Last night, the Director of the Ruse Police, Senior Commissioner Nikolay Kozhuharov, was savagely beaten after reprimanding a group of youths who were drifting with their cars," he wrote.

Earlier in the day the Ruse prosecutors' office spokesperson, Svetoslav Velikov, said that they were working on an incident involving Nikolay Kozhuharov. He would not provide further details and said they were upcoming. The local hospital declined comment.

"To attack a person who works every day to maintain order and security, is an attack against our entire city," he also commented. According to the mayor, the incident is especially bitter given Kozhuharov’s personal commitment to combating youth violence in Ruse.

Milkov vowed to step up efforts to tackle youth aggression in the city and to work in close cooperation with schools, institutions, and citizens.