A senior Finnish police officer has been convicted of assault and breach of official duty after throwing a handcuffed teenager against a wall inside a Tampere grocery store two years ago.
The incident occurred in March 2023, when a 17-year-old boy purchased chocolates at a grocery store but weighed them as cheaper candy, gaining an undue benefit of 1.20 euros.
Security guards noticed the attempted deception and detained the teen and his friend in a holding room at the Prisma supermarket in the Kaleva district of the city. The police arrived shortly thereafter.
Pirkanmaa District Court heard the police officer claim the teen was uncooperative, but surveillance footage contradicted both his and a security guard's accounts, showing unnecessary force.
The assault was captured by the store's surveillance camera. Although Yle initially requested access to the footage from the Pirkanmaa District Court, the judge denied the request despite the video being central to the trial. Yle later received the video via a public records request to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Despite denying wrongdoing, the officer was fined 860 euros. An internal police review led to a formal warning, with the officer citing personal stress as a factor in the incident. The Central Finland Police Department said a temporary suspension would have been too harsh a penalty for the incident.
Although the teen was not seriously injured, he suffered pain and discomfort as a result of the assault.
