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No charges for cop's racist remarks

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
No charges for cop's racist remarks

Prosecutors have abandoned their investigation into the case of a Malmö police officer who uttered racist slurs during disturbances in the city's Rosengård district in December.

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The officer was suspected of having committed agitation against ethnic groups (hets mot folkgrupp) in connection with police efforts to quell disturbances in which a number of people with immigrant backgrounds were involved.

While sitting in a police van, the officer used the term “blattajävlar”, an ethnic slur which translates roughly into “damn coloured people” or “damn immigrants”, in reference to a young people out on the streets.

On its own, “blatte” is a derogatory Swedish term often used in reference to an immigrant.

The comments were recorded on a police video which was was played during a separate trial of several individuals involved with the Rosengård demonstrations.

In his decision to shut down the investigation, head prosecutor Per Lind from the Malmö police department's internal crimes unit found that three other police officers overhead the remarks.

The officer admits that he made the statement, but claims that it is a quote and not his own words. He was repeating what another individual had said.

The investigation revealed that the radio traffic was being monitored by the head of the unit, who was sitting at the front of the van.

The officer in question sat furthest back. There was limited communication due to the disturbances. On that occasion, police were using a new radio system with encrypted transmissions.

The unit head said the officer's statement was not heard by anyone outside of the van.

“The remarks didn't go any further than a few individuals and it is therefore not a punishable offense,” Lind concluded.

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