Families of Kauhajoki victims claim large compensation in damages from government

Police inspector to face criminal charges of negligence

print this

The immediate relatives of the victims of last year’s school shooting in Kauhajoki are seeking EUR 40,000 each in compensation for suffering from the state. In nine cases, the claimants are the mother and father, in one case the spouse of a victim.
      In addition, a child whose mother was killed during the shooting is claiming more than EUR 31,000 in compensation for loss of maintenance plus EUR 30,000 for pain and suffering. The woman’s husband is seeking the same sum. The child in question was only 2.5 years old at the time of the fatal incident.
     
The hearing in the case is to begin on Monday September 21st at the Kauhajoki District Court.
     
The total sum of compensation payments, including legal expenses, is likely to be close to EUR 900,000.
      One of the grounds for the demands for compensation is the assumption that Matti Juhani Saari, the shooter, would not have been able to carry out his plans if the police inspector who interviewed him had confiscated his gun.
      Saari shot and killed ten people with a semi-automatic pistol, before turning the gun on himself. The families of the victims say that the inspector should have investigated Saari’s plans more thoroughly, instead of being content with a short discussion with him.
      The claims were submitted to the state, as the claimants say that the state has not taken enough actions to prevent school shootings.
     
The state or the State Provincial Office denies liability for damages, saying that the causal connection between the alleged negligence of the inspector and the shooting incident itself is non-existent.
      The families are demanding an indictment against the inspector for dereliction of duty and aggravated involuntary manslaughter.
      The prosecutor demands that the inspector should be fined for a much milder offence, namely negligent dereliction of duty.
     
According to the indictment, the inspector failed to examine the material relating to Saari that was found on the Internet, including the shooting videos Saari had placed on the YouTube website, as well as Saari’s visits to the Irc-Galleria social networking site containing references to misanthropy and the Columbine High School massacre.
      The inspector denies all allegations. He says that Matti Saari’s behaviour during the interview was normal and matter-of-fact.
     
The inspector notes further that a police officer has no right to decide according to his own preferences what kind of presence on the Internet is permitted and what not, as the consideration has to be based on the law, not on arbitrary choices.
      The incident was entirely unexpected, he says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Child of Kauhajoki school shooting victim to pursue claim of negligent manslaughter against police officer (27.4.2009)
  Police say Saari fired nearly 200 shots, spoke on phone during school shootings (30.9.2008)
  Saari copied Jokela killer Pekka-Eric Auvinen in everything he did (24.9.2008)
  Police actions to be examined in detail (24.9.2008)

See also:
  Eleven die in shooting bloodbath (24.9.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat