A civilian identified as BP, was reportedly shot dead by an off-duty police officer on 2 August 2026 at the Raffles Residence 3 housing estate, Block M, Mimika Baru District, Mimika Regency, Papua Tengah Province. The alleged shooter, identified as Aipda M, was an officer stationed at Mozes Kilangin Airport Police Station in Timika. Witness accounts and police statements agree that the officer initially assaulted the victim during a domestic dispute but differ over the circumstances immediately preceding the fatal shot.
According to a first-hand account provided by a witness at the scene, the officer went to the victim's house following a dispute concerning the victim's relationship with the officer's wife. The witness alleged that the officer assaulted the victim inside the house, chased him outside and assaulted him again. The victim then returned inside to retrieve a machete. By the time he came back, the officer was reportedly already inside his vehicle, from which he fired the fatal shot.
The police presented a partially different chronology during a press conference on 2 August 2026. Mimika District Police Chief AKBP Alfredo Agustinus Rumbiak stated that the officer had gone to his estranged wife's residence to pick up their child for a study session. A verbal altercation with BP escalated into a physical confrontation, during which the officer struck the BP before his wife intervened. The officer subsequently entered his vehicle with the child. According to the suspect's account, BP then approached the car carrying a machete. The officer claimed that he felt threatened, could not immediately drive away because the car needed to be reversed, and fired spontaneously in self-defence. The shot struck BP in the head, causing his death at the scene.
Investigation and subsequent developments
Following the shooting, Aipda M reportedly contacted a colleague and surrendered to the police. Investigators secured his pistol, the machete believed to have been carried by the victim and the vehicle involved in the incident. The Criminal Investigation Unit of Mimika District Police and its forensic identification team attended the scene, while the victim's body was transported to Mimika Regional General Hospital. Available reports do not establish whether a post-mortem examination was conducted or whether independent forensic evidence has been obtained.
On 10 August 2026, the Mimika District Police Chief confirmed that Aipda M had officially been designated a suspect. An article published by Fajar Papua on 11 August stated that the case had been taken over by the Professional Standards and Security Division (Propam) of the Central Papua Regional Police. The Police Chief assured the public that the officer's status would not exempt him from legal accountability but did not elaborate on the criminal charges, confirm whether the suspect was detained, or the status of criminal or disciplinary proceedings.
Human rights analysis
The case raises concerns about a possible arbitrary deprivation of life, the misuse of a police firearm and the adequacy of the subsequent criminal investigation. The fatal shooting engages the right to life protected under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 28A of the Indonesian Constitution. Although the officer was reportedly off duty and the confrontation arose from a private dispute, his status as a police officer and use of a service firearm require careful examination of state responsibility and applicable standards governing the use of force.
A claim of self-defence does not, by itself, establish that lethal force was lawful. Investigators must determine whether the officer faced an imminent threat to life or serious injury, whether firing the weapon was strictly necessary, and whether less harmful alternatives were reasonably available in the circumstances. The victim's possession of a machete is relevant to that assessment, but cannot substitute for an examination of the actual threat at the moment the shot was fired.
The evidence concerning the preceding assaults is particularly significant. Both the witness account and the police chronology indicate that the officer initiated physical violence against the victim. Investigators should therefore assess whether the officer's conduct contributed to the escalation, whether he had an opportunity to disengage, and whether his subsequent use of lethal force was necessary and proportionate.
Detailed case data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-113-2026
Location: Mimika Baru, Mimika Regency, Central Papua, Indonesia (-4.5671869, 136.8873528) Raffles Residence 3 housing estate, Block M
Region: Indonesia > Central Papua > Mimika > Mimika Baru
Total number of victims: 1
1. BP, male adult Unknown right to life, unlawful killing
Period of incident: 02/08/2026-02/08/2026
Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Police > POLSEK
Perpetrator details: Aipda M stationed at Mozes Kilangin Airport Police Station in Timika
Issues: security force violence