The police in Finnmark are now being investigated by the Bureau of Police Affairs. It is Geir Larsen who has reported them for what he believes is plain work and a number of offenses linked to several cases of violence in which his daughter Victoria has been offended. Now Larsen has presented evidence for one of the accusations he makes against the police – an accusation which the police have so far denied. Acquitted of serious violence The problem started when Victoria’s ex-boyfriend was acquitted of a wide range of charges in a sensational trial last autumn. When the case came to court, the prosecutor had to admit that the police had not secured sufficient evidence in the case. Thus, she had to ask that the now 30-year-old man be acquitted of violence and threats against Victoria and several others. The man had a very violent background, and was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison in 2016. Victoria Larsen thanks her father Geir for his support through a traumatic period in her life. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn / news Asked for a restraining order Geir Larsen wrote a comprehensive complaint about the police’s work on the case. One of the subjects of the complaint was the restraining order they had requested for her ex-boyfriend. – Right after the trial, I was with Victoria at the police to get a restraining order, says Larsen to news. – The police thought it was quite natural that a curfew should be imposed. After only an hour, they called and confirmed that the restraining order had been served, and sent her a text message at the same time. They never received any written confirmation in the mail, and began to suspect that it had not been arranged. The confirmation came in June, in a letter from police chief Ellen Katrine Hætta. – When the chief of police finally managed to respond to my complaint after almost a year, she wrote in her reply that there had never been a restraining order, says Larsen. Illustration: Response from the chief of police in Finnmark to Geir Larsen In the letter, it is stated that the police did not think a restraining order was necessary, and that the family had not asked for it either. Larsen reacted to the answer, but had no evidence that the police were wrong. The phone with the text message had been destroyed in the meantime. But in September, Victoria changed her phone. Then she found an old backup in the cloud. There was the SMS from the police, which assured them that the restraining order had been served. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn / news For Larsen, it is yet another confirmation that the police do not have control in a serious case of violence. – I think it is very serious, like many other things in this case. Victoria has gone and thought it was a curfew, says Larsen. He sent a copy of the SMS to the police and the Norwegian Police Directorate as an attachment to his complaint, and then to the Bureau. The Bureau will not comment on the case to news, but Larsen has sent us a copy of an email in which they confirm that they have started an investigation by the police in Finnmark. He states that both he and his daughter were in for questioning last week. The police apologize The police have previously been reprimanded by the state attorney for their handling of the cases. They have apologized for the mistake both in an interview with news and in a letter to father and daughter Larsen. Now they apologize again. Prosecutor Morten Daae states that the answer that Larsen received from the chief of police in June was wrong, and writes that Victoria’s ex-boyfriend was in fact banned from visiting. “The complaint of 13 June 2022 contains incorrect information about the restraining order against the defendant. A restraining order based on Section 222a of the Criminal Procedure Act was issued on 01.10.2021, and it is therefore not correct that the prosecution did not issue a restraining order in the case. I sincerely apologize for this case management error”, writes Daae via the communication unit in the Finnmark police district. Police Chief Ellen Katrine Hætta misinformed in her response to the complaint from Geir Larsen. Now the police district apologizes. Photo: EILIF ASLAKSEN / news Lost trust The 30-year-old had to appear in court again in September this year, accused of violence against Victoria. For unknown reasons, the case was not included in the trial a year ago. This time Victoria experienced being believed. The ex-boyfriend was sentenced to prison for violence against her and violence against a childhood friend. Although the latest sentence was a plaster on the wound, she does not feel that she can trust the police. – I will never again go there to report a case, if my life is threatened. I don’t trust the police. I don’t spend time on it. That only makes it worse, says Victoria Larsen.
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Here is the proof that the police in Finnmark were not telling the truth about the curfew – news Troms and Finnmark
