The Helsinki Police Department has resigned as a senior constable because he has sent discriminatory messages to racial, religious and political groups. Hateful messages arose from discussions with staff in the other two departments.
The current former constable is no longer suspected of planning a crime, but the Helsinki police considered the man incapable of performing his duties because the police are legally obliged to act properly both on duty and elsewhere.
According to the Helsinki Police Department, there were sufficient grounds for dismissing the senior constable, although the criminal investigation is still ongoing.
"His conduct could seriously undermine confidence in the proper performance of police duties, as stated in his formal decision to dismiss him," said the deputy chief of police Heikki Kopperoinen.
A study of the former constable’s messages revealed intentions to join and do "secretly" to work on behalf of far-right groups. Evidence suggested that the officer may have misused his powers and disclosed confidential information in violation of official duties.
Hostile conversations
According to the official notice of dismissal, three messages described intentions of inhuman and sadistic behavior "homeland traitor" politicians and supporters of politicians identified by the man.
In one message, the constable talked about the meeting with one of these politicians while shopping and announced it "now would be an opportunity to murder [them]" but had then decided it "the bitches are in power, the removal of the poor would not have changed anything."
Other messages also require certain groups to be executed while waiting "civil war" breaks out. "Somalis are gassed, gypsies are shot and Muslims are burned with flamethrowers," wrote another officer.
The former senior constable had responded with a message telling him how he had forgotten "commands" accompanied by laughing emojis.
The constable said the messages were private, suggesting that this is a significant factor in assessing the motives behind them. The man also claimed that this was just a case "blowing steam and air frustration" and described the messages "imaginary black humor."
“Not acceptable”
However, according to the decision of the police department, whether the messages are private or public is irrelevant in assessing his behavior.
"The messages give the impression that the author does not respect fundamental rights or human rights and does not want to promote these rights," read notification. "It is very difficult to even imagine a more civilized, coarser, and unfortunate language than the language that appears in messages. Such use of language cannot generally be considered acceptable."
The department also took into account the firearms verdict that the man received in March in the Helsinki District Court.
The court found that he was in possession of 170 cartridges he had taken from the police station without permission. Ammunition is classified as particularly dangerous.
One police officer has been arrested in connection with the messages to await jurisdiction. The man participated in conversations with the dismissed officer. No legal action has been taken against the third official who has been found to have taken part in the discussions.
The Attorney General’s Office is still investigating police extremist right-wing suspects.
"There has been no suspicion of a far-right police network in the past. The Helsinki Police Department is not a place for the far right" Kopperoinen said.
Source: The Nordic Page