– It takes quite serious violations before one will even consider whether there is a serious breach of duty, says Ingvild Bruce about the police’s use of force. She is an associate professor at the Norwegian Police Academy. Bruce believes it is important to clarify what power the police can exercise. – It will be useful if the judgment is appealed. This is a field where there are no clear legal boundaries, she says. Ingvild Bruce believes that it is useful with all cases that can help to clarify where the limits of the police’s use of force lie. Photo: Ola Mjaaland / news Verdict expected on Friday Last week the trial took place where a police officer is charged with serious bodily injury and grossly negligent breach of duty. The police officer denies criminal responsibility. The police officer hit Kevin Simensen in the head with his fist repeatedly last autumn when Simensen resisted arrest. Simensen has said that he did not understand that it was an arrest. He thought he was being assaulted. In addition, police officer Simensen and his friend Kristian Pablo hit Teigen with a baton. These two are offended in the case. The verdict from the trial is expected on Friday. The police officers’ own perception is the starting point According to Section 6 of the Police Act, the police can exercise force as long as it is necessary and justifiable. It is the police officer who exercised power and his experience of the actual situation that must be used as the basis for the assessment of what was necessary, says Bruce. But when assessing how the police officer perceived the situation, the court can give weight to evidence other than his own explanation – for example, what appears from the surveillance video from the scene. – If his explanation appears completely implausible, the court can choose to disregard it, she says. Must go to the Supreme Court to have significance Professor Morten Holmboe says a district court judgment will not have such great legal weight. – We will have the effect in principle if the judgment is appealed to the Court of Appeal and possibly to the Supreme Court, he says. Holmboe says that what the court finds proven and how it legally assesses the proven case, determines what the verdict will be. – It seems to me that the prosecution and the accused disagree on both parts, he says. Morten Holmboe at the Norwegian Police Academy is a lawyer and has a doctorate in criminal law. Photo: Rahand Bazaz / news High threshold for judging police officers Ingvild Bruce points out that it is important that the police have a wide leeway when assessing how much force is necessary. There will always be discretion involved in the interpretation of laws and regulations, she believes. – But it is also important that there is a limit to what power the police can exercise, says Bruce. Bruce says there are few similar cases that end in prosecution. The special unit also loses relatively often in court, she says. A consequence of that is that there are few cases where a position is taken on and the limits of the police’s use of force are drawn up. – The courts have shown themselves willing to set a fairly high threshold before police officers can be convicted of illegal use of force, she says.
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Lawyer misses clearer limits for the police’s use of force – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
