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Finnish man gets five years for attempted manslaughter of police officer and violent resistance

Tuesday 9th 2024 on 18:00 in  
Finland

A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to five years and three months in prison by the Ostrobothnia District Court in Finland for attempted manslaughter and violent resistance against an officer. In addition to his prison sentence, he has been ordered to pay a total of 8,500 euros to two police officers for temporary inconvenience and suffering caused by a muscular injury.

The crime occurred last November in Vaasa, a city on the west coast of Finland. The events began when a police officer attempted to apprehend the man who was behaving disruptively and threateningly in an apartment building hallway. The man approached the officer with his hand behind his back and suddenly struck with a 20-centimeter serrated knife aimed at the officer’s neck. However, the officer managed to push the man away, causing the knife to miss the neck and instead scratch the officer’s jacket on the shoulder.

Despite the officer’s command, the man refused to drop his knife and retreated into his apartment. The police broke down the door and managed to gain control of the man despite his vigorous resistance. In the struggle, another officer sustained injuries to his chest and arm. The man continued to resist while being transported to the car and during detention inspection. He also verbally threatened to kill the police officers who had arrested him.

According to the Ostrobothnia District Court, the man intended to kill the police officer on duty, or at the very least, he must have considered the officer’s death highly likely when he struck at the officer’s neck. However, the court does not consider the man a potential threat to the life of an officer, except when under the influence of intoxicants. The court stated that the man attacked the officer impulsively while in a state of confusion caused by intoxicants, with the police officer being an incidental victim.

The man has been sentenced to conditional imprisonment three times between 2021 and 2024 for drug-related offenses, and once to over a year of conditional imprisonment for a drug-related offense and assault.