Prosecutor seeks lengthy prison sentence for attempted murder of police officers in Kärsämäki
Thursday 7th November 2024 on 10:09 in
Finland
A prosecutor is seeking a lengthy prison sentence for a man accused of attempting to murder two police officers in Kärsämäki last May. The man allegedly pointed an illegal revolver at the officers as they attempted to apprehend him in the parking lot of a hotel on May 16.
The police had arrived to check a vehicle parked outside the hotel, but the situation escalated when a man and a woman inside the car refused to exit. The police escalated their orders by deploying pepper spray through an open window. Subsequently, the man exited the vehicle and aimed the revolver at the officers. According to the prosecutor, the man pulled the trigger, but the gun did not discharge because the energy of the hammer was insufficient to ignite the primer in the cartridges, which were too hard.
The tense situation ended when one of the officers shot the man in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground and drop the weapon. However, the situation continued as the woman with him attempted to reach for the fallen revolver, despite police commands to refrain. The prosecutor alleges that the woman aimed to threaten the police with violence and she is charged with violent resistance against an officer.
Both the man and the woman are also charged with serious drug offenses, as over 200 grams of amphetamine and more than 200 grams of cannabis were found in the car they used after the incident. In addition to the attempted murder charges and serious drug charges, the man faces a firearms offense. The prosecutor is requesting a minimum sentence of 12.5 years for the man and 1.5 years for the woman. The man denies attempting murder, claiming he did not try to fire the revolver, while admitting to a lesser charge of violent resistance. He acknowledges the firearms and drug charges, but asserts that the substances belonged solely to him. The woman completely denies the charges. The Oulu District Court will continue hearing the case next week and will issue a judgment later.