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Cops probed for beating handicapped driver

TT/Peter Vinthagen Simpson
TT/Peter Vinthagen Simpson - [email protected]
Cops probed for beating handicapped driver

A Swedish prosecutor has opened an investigation concerning police officers alleged to have dragged a partially handicapped man from his car, calling him an "idiot" and a "druggie", and having erased his phone of the evidence.

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Mats Hansson, 44, who suffered debilitating injuries in a motorcycle crash in 2001, was on his way to the physiotherapist when he was pulled over last Tuesday by a police vehicle in central Gothenburg.

After Hansson had parked his Mercedes by the road side he was ordered to get out, later finding out that he stood accused of having run a red light.

Hansson said that he was not allowed to take his crutches, which he needs to be able to walk, and was slammed against the side of the police vehicle with his arms twisted in a lock behind his back, according to a report in the GT/Expressen daily.

Furthermore Hansson alleges that he was kneed in his leg, which has a partial prosthetic implant, causing him excruciating pain. He also claimed that on the way to the police station he was called an "idiot" and accused of being on drugs.

He furthermore had his driving licence revoked and had the contents of his mobile phone erased when he attempted to record the interaction with the officers.

The 44-year-old has denied that he drove through a red light, claiming that it was amber, and a later blood test showed no trace of drugs.

The matter has now been taken up by Per Lind at the Swedish National Police Crimes Unit (Riksenheten för polismål) after Hansson filed a report with the Gothenburg police.

While Hansson told the newspaper that he was pessimistic of the officers being disciplined, his lawyer Ann Bark argued:

"The police can not behave like this, it inspires no confidence among the public."

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