Police director general faces questions over recent use of force

Yle’s A-studio will interview Police Director General Ilkka Koskimäki on Tuesday evening about recent police use-of-force incidents and whether current guidelines should be changed.

The discussion follows the death of a person after police used a conducted energy weapon in Espoo. The person was injured on Friday, 14 August, taken to hospital for further treatment and later died. The National Prosecution Authority’s police crime unit is assessing whether a preliminary investigation should be opened into the police action.

Two other police officers have also become the subject of serious criminal suspicions over their conduct within the past week.

On Wednesday, 12 August, a police officer pointed a gun at a man who opened the door of an unmarked police car in Tampere. The officer, who had been monitoring traffic, is suspected of breach of official duty and making an unlawful threat. The officer has been transferred to other duties while the case is investigated by a prosecutor.

In Tuusula on Saturday, 8 August, a police officer forced a 15-year-old moped rider into a ditch and into a fence. The rider fractured the instep of his foot and five bones in his hand. Both the officer and the rider are suspected of offences.

The officer is suspected of aggravated bodily injury, aggravated endangerment of traffic safety and breach of official duty. The officer has also been transferred to other duties during the investigation.

Henri Rikander, a docent in police law, said the recent incidents had damaged the police’s reputation.

The A-studio broadcast will be available in this article, on Yle Areena and on Yle TV1 at 21:00.