Questioning the Brimob Combat Mindset in the Bloody Incident in Tual

JAKARTA - The placement of the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in dispersing the illegal racing that occurred in Tual City, Maluku, raised questions. Brigadier Two Masias Siahaya allegedly hit a student with a tactical helmet, causing the victim to die.

After the morning prayer on Thursday (19/2/2026), two brothers, Arianto Tawakkal (14) and Nasri Karim Tawakkal (14), did not expect their journey to turn into a bloody tragedy.

That morning the streets were still empty. According to Nasri's testimony, they were walking on motorbikes, side by side. When they were near the Maren Ni Noho Renuat Hospital, they were stopped by Brimob members who were patrolling. They were chasing children who were motorcade.

Bripda Masias was then said to have hit Arianto in the face until he fell down. The beating was allegedly triggered by accusations of involvement in illegal racing. Although he was rushed to the hospital, the life of this MTSn student was not saved.

Although he denied the allegations, Brimpa Masias Siahaya is now in custody. The suspect was charged with Article 76CjunctoPasal 80 Paragraph (3) of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection, which regulates violence against children that causes death with a maximum threat of 15 years in prison.

In addition, the perpetrator is also charged with Article 466 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code regarding persecution which resulted in death with a maximum threat of 7 years in prison.

The death of the 14-year-old student due to alleged violence by the police left wounds, anger, and big questions in the community. In fact, how far can Brimob members act?

This incident reminded the public of the online driver Affan Kurniawan who died after being hit by a Brimob tactical vehicle during the August 2025 demonstration.

Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) Andie Yunus said the police never learned from the fatal mistakes they made in various previous events.

According to KontraS' records, from July 2024 to June 2025, as many as 602 incidents of violence were carried out by the National Police, with the shooting incident being the most numerous, reaching 411 incidents.

Of the hundreds of incidents, 10 victims died as a result of police torture, dozens of others were lightly to seriously injured.

There were also 37 extrajudicial killings, which resulted in 40 victims. In the same period, KontraS also recorded 44 cases of wrongful arrest which resulted in 35 people being injured and eight dead. KontraS' monitoring results also noted that during the period there were 89 violations of civil liberties in various forms.

Various acts of violence that have occurred recently indicate that there has been no structural, comprehensive, and committed reform in the Polri.

Meanwhile, forensic psychologist Reza Indragiri Amriel questioned the assignment of Brimob to handle the illegal races in Tual. Brimob, said Reza, although it is part of the Polri institution, has a different work specialty from the regular police.

Formed to deal with extreme, critical, and very high-risk situations, and to handle anarchist and life-threatening incidents, Brimob has a paramilitary mindset (to combat). While regular police work with a mindset to serve and protect (to serve and to protect).

"So, it is not impossible that Bripda MS put on a combat mindset when swinging his helmet in such a way, direction, and power," Reza told VOI.

"With a fighting mindset, making the target of losing life completely cannot be eliminated just like that. So, the article on the persecution of Bripda MS could be replaced with a more severe article," he continued.

On the other hand, Reza can understand the attitude of police officers who are expected to be ready to respond to situations that require the presence of the police, in this case the alleged wild racing at the scene.

However, during the dissolution of the illegal racing action until the bloody incident occurred, Brimob actually had enough time to coordinate with the nearest traffic unit or police regional unit, such as the police station.

"It should be like that. Otherwise, Brimob's work at that time became problematic. This is the first problem," said Reza.

The next problem is when Masias swung the helmet to hit the head of AT. The helmet, according to him, is not an instrument to control humans, so whatever the reason for using the helmet is a mistake.

Another problem, the helmet that is directed to the head of the AT can be fatal because the head is a vital part. So, Bripda Masias' action can be classified as the use of deadly force.

"The question is, what are the stages of escalating the situation that Bripda MS saw so that he finally implemented the way to kill?" explained Reza.

If Masias sees an escalation, then he must be examined what form of response Masias does step by step until the peak he uses the way to turn off. On the other hand, it is suspected that Masias may have immediately applied the way to turn off to the victim without considering the situation and conditions at that time.

Reza also highlighted the role of other Brimob personnel who were with Masias. According to him, they also need to be held accountable for ethics and crime because they did not try to stop Masias' actions. The sad and terrible incident in Tual, said Reza, is not just a "individual" action by the National Police.

"It is absolutely essential that further investigation be carried out that there is collective responsibility to be charged," he said.