A motorcycle police officer is accused of misconduct after chasing a 15-year-old boy on a moped in central Piteå.
On Wednesday, TV4 Nyheterna was able to publish a film from the motorcycle police’s helmet camera that showed the dramatic journey that lasted for about three minutes.
Now Jörgen Lundälv, traffic injury researcher and docent in traffic medicine at Umeå University, is furious.
– I get completely numb when I see this film. I’m at a loss for words, this is completely senseless and it’s serious. That the police continue to chase children on mopeds and that lessons have not been learned from previous tragic events. It is very, very remarkable, he says.
Jörgen Lundälv reacts to which areas the motorcycle police choose to chase the moped rider.
– What I see in this sequence is really unpleasant. Because the hunt takes place in traffic environments and into larger parking lots, it enters home and living environments, on paths and even on lawns where people live. It’s no longer about traffic safety, it’s about the living environment and it’s really, really unpleasant to look at this.
In addition to the fact that the police have rules about not pursuing two-wheeled vehicles, unless there are serious criminal suspicions, due to their “unprotected and vulnerable position”, Lundälv believes that the police should be extra restrictive when hunting for children.
– When I see this, I think about the children’s perspective actually. The lack of consequence thinking. And from the police side, there doesn’t seem to be a plan on how to stop a fleeing child on a moped. After all, it can really end either way, health losses and even fatal injuries.
– I also think about third parties and the public. After all, there is no one who can be prepared and jump away, if you or I were to walk on this pedestrian and bicycle path, we cannot imagine that there will be a moped and motorcycle police driving by. It is not included in the map image and that is what worries me, that here also a third person may suffer injuries. This goes against the zero vision and our common road safety.
“Adrenaline rushes – don’t know what they might face”
The traffic injury researcher says that it is pure luck that no one was injured.
– Anything can happen in a hunt like this. There are risks that arise both when the moped rider runs away and when the police chase after him. When the adrenaline rises for both of these drivers and you don’t know what they might face. It can be people with disabilities, elderly people and children who do not observe this hunt and who also do not have the slightest opportunity to jump to the side or move. So it’s a miracle no one was hurt in an incident like this and it’s really, really unpleasant.
According to chief prosecutor Nicklas Englund, who brought charges against the policeman, the reason for the moped chase was to stop the 15-year-old for driving a bus. The boy was later convicted of illegal driving.
– I think that the police in the area must be aware of the moped gangs and young people who drive mopeds, and they must be able to bring that up in conversations at school and not in hunts like this. It’s just aimless hunting and you have to work on prevention at school. We cannot build and develop a zero vision and hope that no one gets hurt. It must be based on conscious actions and that the police have insight into what they are actually doing. Again, it’s a miracle no one was hurt in this incident. Because it is only a motorcycle policeman who drives randomly, based on what I see, and I see that as senseless, says Jörgen Lundälv.
The policeman denies any crime.
– My view as a defense attorney is that my client has done exactly what is incumbent on him as a police officer, to maintain law and order and above all to ensure the safety of other people and citizens. And that is what he has done, and he has also acted completely in accordance with the guidelines that he has had access to and that he has learned during his training, says lawyer Magnus Söderlind.
The trial against the police will be held in April.