Ex-police officer featured in Cops series charged with death of 22-year-old Nea
A 61-year-old former police officer is charged with manslaughter in connection with Nea Lindén's death. Emergency services did not arrive at the scene despite the emergency centre's promise that they would.
Ex-police officer in court: task marked complete, but no one arrived at the scene
Ilta-Sanomat first reported on the case in November 2023. Now proceedings have begun in the Eastern Uusimaa District Court, where a 61-year-old former police officer is charged with manslaughter and breach of official duty. The man is a familiar face to television viewers: he appeared in the Cops series broadcast on Jim channel, which ran for 12 seasons from 2009 onwards.
The charges relate to the death of 22-year-old Nea Lindén in April 2023. Nea suffered from unstable personality disorder and died of a drug overdose at her home.
On the night of her death, Nea's friend called the emergency centre worried about Nea's condition. He had been speaking to Nea on the phone and noticed her speech beginning to slur.
– I asked them to send help to Nea and told them everything Nea had told me that she had taken. They promised to call Nea, the friend said.
When Nea could not be reached, the emergency centre promised to dispatch help to the scene. However, help never arrived. The next morning, Nea's father found his daughter dead in her flat.
According to the prosecutor, the defendant police officer was acting in the role of field commander at the time and marked the task as completed in the Poke system, although the police patrol had not actually visited the location. Additional information had been entered noting that it was a "relay task possibly".
– The conduct demonstrates indifference towards the task that he had been given, the prosecutor stated in closing remarks.
The prosecutor argues that the police should have gone to the flat to check on Nea's condition and called for an ambulance through the emergency centre if necessary.
The defendant police officer denies the charges. He argues that the task should have fallen exclusively to emergency medical personnel, and claims he also requested an ambulance to the scene via Virve radio.
The court heard from Superintendent Jussi Huhtela as a witness, who was then leading the Eastern Uusimaa Police emergency response and surveillance division. Huhtela was absolutely clear in his view.
– I am truly sorry that this happened during my time as sector leader. This should not have happened, Huhtela said before leaving the courtroom.
According to information obtained by Ilta-Sanomat, the same police officer has previously been convicted of two official crimes. The convictions related to his unauthorised access to the police system to look up information about his ex-wife and her son. The man was also prosecuted for harassing his ex-wife, but the court found that inappropriate communication did not meet the criteria for harassment.
Source: Ilta-Sanomat