Cop convicted for assault in custody

A senior police constable on Friday was sentenced to a 16-month suspended imprisonment for assaulting a prisoner in custody and breaching of official duty.

The Päijät-Häme district court awarded the punishment to the constable of the Lahti police as the allegations of applying unnecessary and excessive force on a handcuffed prisoner brought against the convict were proved beyond doubt, reported the local media.

Two other accused in the case – guards working at the police station – were acquitted as the court did not find them guilty.

The court also ordered the police and the state to pay the plaintiff 3,000 euros in compensation for his sufferings.

All the three accused denied the charges brought against them.

The incident took place in the prison cell at the Lahti police station in February last year after the intoxicated man was brought there from a restaurant in the city.

According to the case history, the man began to resist police officers, leading to him being physically restrained and put into hand- and foot-cuffs, reported the national broadcaster Yle.

He suffered bruises, a fracture to his nose and was bleeding during the incident. He also became unconscious due to lack of oxygen and had to be resuscitated, said the report.

The court in the verdict said evidence showed that the constable leaned on the upper back of the detainee with his knees, and obstructed his breathing.

The CCTV camera footage of the prison cell showed that the members of the law-enforcing agency were restraining the intoxicated man who needed to be resuscitated after the struggle.