Police Commissioner wants investigation of claims of threats by drug police

Prosecutor says police under investigation for malfeasance threatened her

print this

Finland’s new National Police Commissioner, Mikko Paatero, is calling for a thorough investigation of claims made by Espoo District Prosecutor Marianna Semi that police officers under investigation for illegal activities had threatened her.
      Semi has been investigating a case in which more than ten officers of the Vantaa drug police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are suspected of incitement to commit a serious drug crime. The case involves the use of informers within the criminal underworld in the investigation of drug cases.
      On Tuesday Semi said that she had received threats from some of the police that were under investigation.
      Four of the Vantaa police were detained and brought in for questioning on Tuesday as they were taking part in a training course. After brief interrogations they were released.
     
National Police Commissioner Paatero called for a full investigation into Semi’s allegations that she had been threatened by the suspects.
      “The matter is so serious that it needs to be thoroughly investigated. If Semi does not want to specify the matter further, then she should withdraw her claim”, Paatero says.
      Semi has said that she does not plan to file a criminal complaint about the threats.
      “I will give Paatero a written report on the matter, if he wants”, Semi said.
      In an interview on a television news broadcast of the commercial network MTV3, Semi said that she believed that media attention would protect her in this situation. She had considered whether or not to come forward with her allegations of threats against her all summer.
      Semi tells of the threats in the Silminnäkijä (“Eyewitness”) television programme to be aired by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) on Thursday evening.
     
Paatero feels that it is improper to make public allegations of threats, and not to move forward with actual charges.
      He says that if the prosecutor does not file a criminal complaint in the matter, the Supreme Police Command will launch an investigation of its own.
     
Paatero also takes up another turn of events in the investigation. Semi has been denied access to police information on the identity of police informers.
      “The matter is not simple, it cannot be examined purely from the prosecutor’s point of view, for example. In these kinds of cases, the occupational safety of the police also needs to be taken into consideration.”
      “Not to mention the fact that the safety of some other people might be in jeopardy”, Paatero says, referring to the police information sources.
      Paatero, who took on his post in mid-August, says that he was well aware of the problems facing drug police in the Helsinki region.
      “However, I am very surprised at how quickly these matters have moved forward."


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Command of Helsinki police drugs unit split in two (11.1.2008)
  Interior Ministry and police administration deny drug squad claims of persecution (11.12.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat