Reported a crime – then the police stormed the family with children instead

Broke into the apartment – the mother: “You don’t believe it’s true. I’m very angry”

Elin reported an ongoing crime.

Then the police mixed up two addresses – and raided her apartment instead.

– It is actually completely disturbed that mistakes like this can happen and that the police then just sweep it under the carpet, she says.

It was on Tuesday last week that “Elin”, whose real name is something else, was out to dinner with her partner and their soon-to-be two-year-old daughter.

Then they overheard three men at the next table planning a serious crime and how to escape the country.

– As good people, we called the police in the car afterwards to inform them about this, says Elin.

The family didn’t think anything more about it after that.

But when they arrive at their apartment building on Kungsholmen, they get a shock.

“I’m just so scared”

There are several picket buses and police cars parked outside.

Inside the building, they are quickly confronted by the police, who have already broken down their apartment door.

– They have completely squashed it, broken it up. Cops are inside our apartment and I’m just so scared and wondering what’s going on.

Elin tells them that they don’t get any information about what is going on.

– Instead, they ask me lots of things; where I’ve been, if I have several phones, where my partner is. And my partner keeps them down in the garage for an hour.

Police confession

During the chaotic late afternoon, Elin later got the impression that it was a mistake, that the police mixed up two addresses.

This is now confirmed by the Stockholm police to Aftonbladet.

“The woman you spoke to is calling the police because she overheard a conversation about a crime. Her phone number is visible in the police system. At the same time, an operation is underway regarding threats, assaults and robberies, but we do not have an address there at that time. The two cases are unrelated. For unclear reasons, someone is mixing up the two cases,” writes Mats Eriksson, press spokesperson for the Stockholm police region, in an email.

“Since we have the phone number and thus the address, the police go there believing that a woman is in distress. And it’s the wrong address. A little later, we learn about the correct address and can go there and resolve the situation”.

“Completely disturbed”

Elin has some understanding that the human factor can lead to mistakes. However, she is very upset with the police over their handling of the case.

– I understand why trust in the police is not where it should be. They promised on the spot that they would fix a new door the next morning, but no one came or even contacted us. Instead, we had to chase people like construction workers and locksmiths, because it wasn’t just the door, but all the concrete and wall around it was also completely broken, she says and continues;

– It is completely disturbed that mistakes like this can happen and that the police then just sweep it under the carpet. You don’t think it’s true. I’m very angry.

Contacted lawyers

However, Mats Eriksson believes that the police followed the routines.

– According to my information, we have contacted a locksmith and closed the door temporarily. Anyone who has subsequently paid can make a compensation claim against the police, he says.

The following day, the property owner repaired a new door and Elin says she has not yet heard anything from the police.

– I have contacted lawyers because we think they have breached our privacy. We have felt discomfort at home and all the neighbors who have seen this, what do they think of us? It has been a shocking, unpleasant and disorienting experience.