TV police officer charged with death of young woman – ambulance not dispatched in Uusimaa
A 61-year-old former police officer known from television is charged with manslaughter and breach of official duty. A woman was found dead in her home the following day.
Field commander marked task as completed – woman died at home
Yle News reports on a case in which a 61-year-old former police officer known from television is charged with manslaughter and breach of official duty. The alleged crimes occurred in April 2023 in Uusimaa.
According to Yle's information, the suspected police officer was working as a field commander at the time. The emergency centre informed him of a woman who needed an ambulance at a private residence. The field commander is charged with marking the task as completed despite neither police nor ambulance attending the scene. The woman was found dead in her home the following day.
The police officer has appeared in the Poliisit television series and worked at least at the East Uusimaa police department. He has since retired.
Yle reports on the case because police have extensive authority to exercise public power and their central duty is to ensure people's safety. Police are only very rarely charged on the grounds that they have caused another person's death in the course of their official duties.
Prosecutor seeks conditional imprisonment
Special prosecutor Jonna Ryynänen tells Yle that she is seeking a short conditional prison sentence for the police officer. She will not comment further on the contents of the charges or description of events. The accused's defence lawyer also declined to comment on the description of events or whether the police officer disputes or admits the charges.
The charges of manslaughter and breach of official duty will be heard at the East Uusimaa District Court in early September. The case was scheduled to be heard earlier this year, but further investigation took place, which is why the trial was delayed.
Previous charges and convictions
According to Yle's information, the same police officer has previously been in court twice facing charges relating to a total of five crimes. In some of the charges he was found guilty, in others not guilty.
Last year the police officer was charged with harassment of his former wife. According to the charges, the man had sent abusive messages to his ex-wife and monitored the woman from outside her home from a police car. In one message he wrote that "committing murder would be cheaper than paying maintenance". The police officer was also charged with two breaches of official duty: according to the prosecutor, he had unauthorised access to information about his ex-wife and her child in the police system.
The court dismissed the harassment charge and found that the messages did not meet the definition of harassment. However, the police officer was convicted of two breaches of official duty, namely unauthorised access to information.
In 2021 the police officer was charged with assault committed in the course of his official duties and breach of official duty. According to the prosecutor, he had strangled an arrested man using excessive force. Both charges were dismissed as the evidence obtained by the court was contradictory.
The police officer was also suspected of assault on a one-year-old child. According to witnesses, he would have disciplined a child living in the family by choking, slapping and shouting. The police officer denied committing the crime. In 2024 the prosecutor decided not to press charges because the statute of limitations for assault – five years – had expired; nearly ten years had passed since the alleged acts.
Source: Yle Uutiset