Hate mail policeman awarded compensation
A 45-year-old police commander in Malmö who was fired for sending racist e-mails may soon be back at his job. The labour court took the view that there were insufficient grounds for dismissal and the man is to be awarded 80,000 kronor in compensation.
The 45-year-old was first removed the force in January 2006 after the Police Disciplinary Board ruled that his actions had rendered him unfit for service.
In the spring of 2005 he composed e-mails bemoaning what he perceived as the propensity of politicians to spend tax money on "bloody immigrants" and "criminals called Mohammed from Rosengård".
In an e-mail to leading Malmö Social Democrat Ilmar Reepalu , he wrote: "Withdraw your massive subsidies to all the bloody immigrants in Rosengård and let Swedes who have sweated their whole lives building Sweden have their share of our prosperity. Jesus Christ, how I hate you and your damned socialist party."
The commander was accused of inciting hatred of a minority group but was cleared of the charges by Malmö District Court. Despite being cleared by the court, he was later dismissed by the Police Disciplinary Board.
On deciding to take the case to the labour court, the Police Union made it clear that it did not wish to defend the emails in any way but suggested that disciplinary action in the form of a warning or a transfer would have been sufficient.
"Ten years of irreproachable service need to be set against this one aberration. We consider his dismissal to have been unlawful and are demanding his reinstatement," said union representative Johan Karlman.
The labour court ruled that the police officer was just asserting his constitutional right. As such, there was no good reason to relieve him of his duties.
As the dismissal constituted an infringement of his rights, the state has been ordered to pay the policeman 80,000 kronor in compensation.
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The 45-year-old was first removed the force in January 2006 after the Police Disciplinary Board ruled that his actions had rendered him unfit for service.
In the spring of 2005 he composed e-mails bemoaning what he perceived as the propensity of politicians to spend tax money on "bloody immigrants" and "criminals called Mohammed from Rosengård".
In an e-mail to leading Malmö Social Democrat Ilmar Reepalu , he wrote: "Withdraw your massive subsidies to all the bloody immigrants in Rosengård and let Swedes who have sweated their whole lives building Sweden have their share of our prosperity. Jesus Christ, how I hate you and your damned socialist party."
The commander was accused of inciting hatred of a minority group but was cleared of the charges by Malmö District Court. Despite being cleared by the court, he was later dismissed by the Police Disciplinary Board.
On deciding to take the case to the labour court, the Police Union made it clear that it did not wish to defend the emails in any way but suggested that disciplinary action in the form of a warning or a transfer would have been sufficient.
"Ten years of irreproachable service need to be set against this one aberration. We consider his dismissal to have been unlawful and are demanding his reinstatement," said union representative Johan Karlman.
The labour court ruled that the police officer was just asserting his constitutional right. As such, there was no good reason to relieve him of his duties.
As the dismissal constituted an infringement of his rights, the state has been ordered to pay the policeman 80,000 kronor in compensation.
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