– You have to take into account that a person who seems so aggressive will be capable of drawing weapons or other things, says Simen Kristoffer Thorvaldsen. He is a police officer in the Oslo police district. He believes there was no excessive use of force by the police officer on the surveillance video from Kongsberg. The incident Thorvaldsen is talking about happened last autumn when Kevin Simensen, Marius Stormo and Kristian Pablo Teigen were out on the town. The men were thrown out of a nightclub by a doorman, who believed Simensen was making threats against him. After that, they met a police patrol outside a petrol station, and a police officer initiated an arrest on Simensen. A surveillance video shows how the police officer breaks Simensen to the ground before hitting him repeatedly in the head with his fist. The police officer then took out a baton with which he hit both Simensen and Teigen. This is a surveillance video of what happened at the petrol station in Kongsberg last autumn. I don’t think the police officer will be convicted Simensen confirmed to Dagbladet on 2 May that he had a knife in his pocket, but that it was never presented and was in his pocket the whole time. Police chief in the South-East police district, Ole Sæverud, reported the incident to the Bureau. The police officer is charged with grievous bodily harm. The trial begins on Wednesday 28 June in Buskerud District Court. He pleads not guilty. Thorvaldson says one can debate whether the arrest was bad police work or not, but he does not think the police officer will be convicted. – There is still a difference between that and the police having done something punishable. Thorvaldsen wrote his opinions on Politiforum first. – On a collision course The legal counsel for one of the victims, Morten Kjensli, completely disagrees with the Olso policeman that the accused officer from Kongsberg could use blows to the head. – He is obviously on a collision course with our attorney general, as the prosecution in the case has been intensified, says Kjensli. The Bureau of Police Affairs would first give the policeman a summons. It was changed by Terje Nybøe, head of the Bureau for Police Affairs. He accused the police officer of bodily harm. The Attorney General changed the charge to aggravated assault. The harshness of the indictment against the policeman means that he could receive a prison sentence if the court finds him guilty. Kjensli says blows to the head are one of the last things the police can use in view of the so-called pyramid of power they must stay within during arrests. The fact that Simensen had a knife in his pocket, he believes, has no significance either. – The knife was never in front, emphasizes Kjensli. According to the video, you can also see that Simensen is resisting arrest. Kjensli believes that most people would do that in the same situation. – It was once a natural human reaction to resist when you get 15-20 punches to the head, he says. Morten Kjensli believes that the Attorney General has toughened the charges contradicts what Thorvaldsen believes about the blows to the head. Photo: Privat Believes extended indictment does not change the facts When the indictment against the policeman was strengthened earlier this month, his defender John Christian Elden stated to Dagbladet that an extension of the indictment does not change the facts in the case. – My client does not plead guilty, he believes he used force within the framework the service allows, says lawyer John Christian Elden to the newspaper. The police officer’s defender, John Christian Elden, says there is more to the story than what is shown in a video. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Johannessen / news Police officer Thorvaldsen believes such chaotic situations are some of the most difficult the police face. – In a way, you have to look after your own safety and that of your colleagues, he says. If a person who is arrested does not cooperate with the police and possibly has a knife on him, Thorvaldsen believes that it is perfectly reasonable to hit him in the head. – In some cases, you can imagine that there is an emergency guardianship situation, he says.
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Police officer thinks colleague will be acquitted after Kongsberg violence – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
