(Herald DB) Two former police officers who fled the scene of a 2021 knife attack in Incheon have been ordered to pay compensation, along with the state, to the victim’s family over their botched response.The Incheon District Court recently ruled partially in favor of the family of a woman injured in the attack in a civil damages suit filed against the state. The court ordered the dismissed officers and the government to pay about 350 million won ($228,000) in compensation.The family had sought more than 2 billion won in damages. The court recognized only part of the state’s liability and ordered each side to cover its own legal costs.The case took place on Nov. 15, 2021, at a residential building in Namdong-gu, Incheon, after a dispute over noise between neighbors.Two police officers dispatched to the scene left instead of stopping the attack when a man in his 50s, who lived on the fourth floor, wielded a knife against a woman living on the third floor. The victim was stabbed in the neck and underwent brain surgery.The two officers were indicted on charges of abandoning duty and were each sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years.The attacker was indicted on charges of attempted murder and received a final 22-year prison sentence.Police later dismissed the two officers for violating their duty of diligence and other rules. Dismissal is one of the heaviest disciplinary measures for public officials, second only to removal, and bars a person from being appointed as a public official for three years.“This case was a decisive moment that shattered public trust in police authority,” the victim’s legal representatives said after the ruling. “The ruling is meaningful in that the court sent a stern warning to police authority.”