Police officers threatened with dismissal for practical joke
Two police officers in northern Sweden are facing criminal charges after stealing a road sign as part of a practical joke, Expressen reports.
The two Jämtland officers dismantled a road sign from the village of Gubbträsk -- which can be translated literally as 'Codger's Mire' -- and hung it up outside the office of a colleague who was about to go into retirement.
According to prosecutor Pär G Lindell, the officers illegally removed a road sign worth 1,500 kronor ($245).
If found guilty as charged, the officers risk losing their jobs, a potential course of action that has prompted protests from the police union.
"It was a so-called practical joke that got out of hand," said chairman Jan Karlsen.
One of the officers has also been charged with hiding a colleague's police car behind a pile of snow in December.
But a police disciplinary committee did not view the latter joke as grounds for dismissal.
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The two Jämtland officers dismantled a road sign from the village of Gubbträsk -- which can be translated literally as 'Codger's Mire' -- and hung it up outside the office of a colleague who was about to go into retirement.
According to prosecutor Pär G Lindell, the officers illegally removed a road sign worth 1,500 kronor ($245).
If found guilty as charged, the officers risk losing their jobs, a potential course of action that has prompted protests from the police union.
"It was a so-called practical joke that got out of hand," said chairman Jan Karlsen.
One of the officers has also been charged with hiding a colleague's police car behind a pile of snow in December.
But a police disciplinary committee did not view the latter joke as grounds for dismissal.
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