The Finnish Police Board is investigating the police’s reaction to Helsinki’s climate action
NATIONAL POLICE has revealed its intention to investigate police action in response to a demonstration held on Friday at the Government Palace in Helsinki.
The actions of the police who disbanded the protest have sparked widespread debate and criticism.
Police Board on Monday stated that it has followed the debate and decided to look at the case as an own-initiative judicial review. Police dispersed the protest in the afternoon, claiming that the protesters posed a security threat in an attempt to influence an ongoing government meeting. The organizers had also not provided advance notice of the demonstration.
However, many lawmakers who attended the meeting later estimated that the situation was much calmer than police reported.
The Helsinki Police Department admitted on Sunday that it had misjudged the security threat posed by the protest. The situation inside the building was calm and there was no concrete threat contrary to what was assumed in police communications on Saturday. Heikki Kopperoinen, Assistant Police of the Finnish Capital.
“There were different subjective views […]and the estimate was not the same in all respects, ”he said commented To STT.
Police arrested 52 protesters in connection with the operation, but four of them were immediately released under the age of 18. Protesters are tentatively suspected of a flagrant attack on public spaces, assault on police and obstruction of a public meeting.
In particular, the first crime has caught the attention of public commentators.
Kimmo Nuotio, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Helsinki, said According to Helsingin Sanomat, some cases of assault on public premises are brought into the justice system every year, but the serious form of the crime is less common, occurring less than once a year.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT