In April, comedian Frank Arne Olsen posted a video on Facebook as his character “Kliff Arne from Narvik itself”, where he says that he and the dog “are going out and apprehending bandits.” The police in Troms received several tips about the video, and now want to take his uniform from him. – I think it is very strange. The police have been aware that I have had the uniform all along, and I even performed at their Christmas table last year, says Olsen to news. He says that he filmed the video in the garage at his home in Tromsø, and that what is said in the video is obviously not serious. – If I had posted it on the police’s website, I would have understood it. But it was posted on my own humor page on Facebook, says the comedian. – Underlig Olsen’s lawyer Ulf E. Hansen thinks it is strange that the police have chosen to open a case to confiscate the uniform. – Frank Arne has portrayed Kliff Arne for 20 years, both on stage and in various contexts, he explains. Lawyer Ulf E. Hansen represents Frank Arne Olsen. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news The character was created in connection with the Honningsvågrevyen, also then in police uniform. It is Section 165 of the Criminal Code, unlawful use of a police uniform, which the police believe Olsen has violated. They want to confiscate the uniform as it has been used in a criminal offence. Hansen reacts to the sentence, which states that Olsen has pretended to be a public authority. The lawyer points out that Kliff Arne is a character that many people are familiar with, and that it is clearly an act. – When Frank Arne portrays Kliff Arne, he is an actor, and then it is legal to use such effects, says Hansen. Olsen’s uniform is real, and was given to him by a retired policeman. – It was also cleared with the police, emphasizes Olsen. Matters of trust The police attorney in the case, Malene Kjemsaas, justifies the desire to revoke the uniform with the fact that people should have confidence that people wearing police uniforms in public are actually police. – The police uniform legitimizes us as police officers who have police authority, which gives them the right to use force beyond what the ordinary man in the street is allowed to do. When the police uniform is used in public by persons without police authority, this can weaken trust in the police and the police uniform, writes the police attorney in an e-mail to news. She emphasizes that it is permissible to wear the uniform in contexts where there is clearly acting, for example on a stage or during a film recording. They believe that this is not clear in Olsen’s use of the uniform. – As the uniform has been used in such an unlawful way, the police want to confiscate it, both because it has been used for a criminal act, but also to prevent the criminal act from being repeated, writes Kjemsaas. In court with shorts and slippers Comedian Olsen says that he has experienced his relationship with the police as good up until now. – When I have met police officers in uniform in the past, they have come over to take a selfie, he says. Olsen plans that it is Kliff Arne the police will meet when he goes to court on November 15. Frank Arne Olsen has worn the police uniform for over 20 years. Photo: Kent-Einar Myreng / news – Kliff Arne turns up in shorts and slippers, afraid that the police will take his clothes away, he says. And if it ends up that he is stripped of his uniform, it is not a crisis. Kliff Arne can only change careers: – There is so much paperwork in the police, so he can catch bandits as guards instead.
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– Breached the Criminal Code, the police believe – news Troms and Finnmark
