The family of a police officer, who was killed when police stormed his house to end a daylong stand-off last week, are seeking justice from the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) over what they believe was the police’s heavy-handed handling of the siege.

Anuchit Thatkhieo, a lawyer representing the family of Pol Lt-Col Kittikarn Saengboon, told the media today (Monday) that he was assigned by the family to seek justice from Sai Mai police and the OAG, as the family believe that the special operations police who stormed the house might have overreacted.

The family pointed out that the house in which Kittikarn had been holed up had sustained many gunshots, with several bullet holes in the back door, as if the police were hunting for a criminal suspect instead of trying to disarm a mentally-troubled man, said Anuchit.

He said the family also pointed out that there are several bullet holes in the window on the second floor, through which Kittikarn had tried to escape.

The Sai Mai police had intended to file multiple charges, including attempted murder, resisting police arrest and discharging a firearm in a public place, against Kittikarn, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital following the operation to capture him.