Mats Löfving, former regional police chief in Stockholm and deputy national police chief, was found dead in his home on February 22 this year. Earlier on the same day, the police’s special investigator Runar Viksten had held a press conference where he singled out Löfving as a badass in several decisions and recommended that he be fired.
Now the Swedish Work Environment Authority has established that the police failed in several respects in the handling of Mats Löfving. Among other things, according to the Swedish Work Environment Agency, they have not succeeded in counteracting risks of abusive differential treatment and have not provided sufficient crisis support.
The police write in an email to SVT Nyheter that they have implemented and are planning measures to strengthen their work.
Still several uncertainties
Mats Löfving’s brother Jan Löfving believes that there are still several uncertainties.
– The important thing for me is that it is clarified what has happened and who has known what, and we are not there yet, he says.
In July, the chairman of the Police Association in the Stockholm region, Kjell Ahlin, stated that the inner circle of national police chief Anders Thornberg knew that Mats Löfving was suicidal. Management must have received the information weeks before Runar Viksten’s press conference.
In addition, a safety representative has notified the Swedish Work Environment Authority that Anders Thornberg knew about Mats Löfving’s condition. Police management has denied the claims.
“Must be clarified”
Jan Löfving is critical of the fact that this has still not been investigated.
– Both the union and the police’s own protection organization believe that the management, including Thornberg, knew that my brother was suicidal long before. That must be clarified, he says.
– Before then, I mean that we are not finished.
He demands extensive measures to ensure that the same situation is not repeated.
– This is not how it must happen, this is not how we must treat people. Announcing on live television that any official or person should be fired. There needs to be some kind of “Lex Löfving” in this so it doesn’t happen again, he says.