The police’s national chief security officer is strongly critical of how the authority handled the events that led to Mats Löfvning’s death.
– Cooperation has been largely non-existent with us, says Patrik Danielsson, national chief security officer at the police, to TV4 Nyheterna.
The Chief Protection Officer at the Police Authority has chosen to send in a separate letter to the Work Environment Agency. They believe that the police’s own investigation is not “well-founded” and that the Police Authority’s handling of Mats Löfving, with a public press conference, most likely worsened his health dramatically.
– We are critical of the internal investigation that was carried out about Mats Löfving and above all how it was presented, says Patrik Danielsson.
Means that self-criticism was toned down
Patrik Danielsson also says that when the police were to investigate work environment responsibility after Mats Löfving’s death, the safety representatives first saw a draft – but that what was then submitted to the Work Environment Agency had a much more diffuse description of the distribution of responsibility.
“Self-critical parts about the causes and consequences of importance for the incident have been removed or toned down”, it says in the representative’s own letter.
The main protection officer writes that the Police Authority lacks cooperation with the protection officers, lacks risk assessments at critical stages in Mats Löfving’s work environment, lacks risk assessment before and after Runar Viksten’s press conference on February 22.
Presented a significant risk
About the press conference on February 22, the representatives write:
“That the conclusion from the investigator that the national police chief should consider firing Mats Löfving or at least removing him as chief was nothing more than a public humiliation that most likely hit Mats Löfving personally very hard and worsened his health dramatically”.
The police’s press service does not comment on the criticism other than to wait for a response to the investigation.
– An investigation is underway at the Swedish Work Environment Agency and we are awaiting a response to it, says Anna Engelbert, press spokesperson at the police.
On June 8, the Swedish Work Environment Authority will carry out a new inspection. After that, the authority will issue an opinion on the Police’s handling.