The police officer was dismissed for accepting a bribe from a woman who was inquiring about her son’s criminal cases. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva
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A senior officer at the East Uusimaa Police Department has been dismissed after being convicted of accepting a €3,000 bribe in exchange for confidential information.
The officer, a 59-year-old man with a long career in law enforcement, received a 60-day suspended prison sentence in September. The court found he had accepted payments from a 41-year-old woman seeking access to information about her adult son’s criminal investigations.
The woman transferred the money in instalments through the MobilePay app between 2022 and 2023.
In return, the officer provided details related to the investigations, despite having no official grounds to do so, according to the court ruling from the District Court of East Uusimaa.
The officer denied the charges, claiming the payments were made due to the woman’s emotional attachment to him and that no confidential information was shared. He has appealed the verdict to the Court of Appeal.
The police department confirmed on Friday that the officer had been dismissed. In its public statement, the department said the officer had shown “completely inappropriate untrustworthiness” and had “irreversibly crossed a line that cannot be accepted”.
The man had held the position of field supervisor and had previously received awards for his work. His dismissal followed an internal review and was accompanied by a formal suspension from duty during the dismissal period.
The department added that the officer’s actions “endangered trust in the proper handling of police duties” and led to the loss of confidence from both his employer and colleagues.
The court rejected an additional charge of abuse of public office brought by the prosecution. The female sender of the bribe received 80 day-fines, amounting to €480, for giving a bribe to a public official.
The bribe involved a total of €3,000, transferred over several payments. The payments were traced to the officer’s account during the investigation, which supported the prosecution’s claim that the officer had breached his duties.
The woman involved in the case was not previously known to the police. Her son is reported to have been under investigation in multiple cases during the time of the bribe payments.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
