Police officer promoted despite violence conviction – Lausanne left demands consequences
A Lausanne police officer was promoted in 2021 despite being convicted of brutal assault against a restrained man just a few years earlier. The left-wing city government is now demanding stricter measures.
Police officer promoted despite violence conviction – Lausanne left demands consequences
A municipal police officer in Lausanne was promoted in 2021, despite being convicted just a few months earlier of assault. The man had brutally beaten an already restrained patient at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) in 2019. The Federal Court upheld the sentence. Nevertheless, the police officer was neither demoted nor dismissed – on the contrary, he advanced in the hierarchy.
This case was uncovered by the newspaper Le Temps. The investigation shows that several members of Lausanne's security forces remained in service despite criminal convictions and faced no disciplinary consequences.
At the last city government meeting before the end of the legislative term, the left side of the municipal council expressed outrage. Several politicians described the incident as "shocking" and spoke of "impunity". They called on the city council to quickly take action against administrative employees whose behaviour is incompatible with their office.
The matter sheds light on the internal control mechanisms of the Lausanne city administration. Until now, there apparently lacked clear regulations that would provide for automatic disciplinary review in cases of criminal convictions of city employees.
Source: Le Temps