Two police officers suspected of misconduct over missing Riihimäki explosive

Yle reports that a prosecutor has opened a preliminary investigation into a case in which police officers left an explosive found in a field in Riihimäki unguarded and it disappeared.

Two police officers are suspected of breaching their official duties, according to Jonna Ryynänen, the prosecutor leading the investigation into police-related offences for the National Prosecution Authority.

The missing device, an old incendiary bomb found in the ground, triggered a 24-hour search operation in Riihimäki in May. Authorities also issued an emergency warning about the bomb.

The Häme Police Department said the bomb had been found in a field and was later left without supervision. It disappeared while officers were away. The area was not immediately cordoned off.

Police said on Tuesday that a local man who moved the bomb is suspected of an explosives offence. The case will proceed to consideration of charges.

The explosive had originally been found more than a month earlier by local resident Jari Salmi, who reported the discovery after locating it with a metal detector. Salmi is not suspected of a crime.

Police did not investigate the report, and the same explosive remained on a manhole cover until the end of May. The prosecutor leading the investigation did not open a preliminary investigation into this part of the case.

In May, Häme Police Chief Kari Puolitaival told Yle that police had not found the explosive after the emergency call. Asked whether officers had visited the place where it was found, Puolitaival said police had not observed or had concrete dealings with the explosive at the location, at least in April.

Puolitaival acknowledged that police had acted carelessly in the case.