On Tuesday, the police violence verdict will be handed down – the prosecutor wants 60 days in prison

The verdict will be handed down in the Borgarting Court of Appeal at 11 o’clock on Tuesday, the court and the defendant’s defender, lawyer John Christian Elden, told NTB. The appeal case was heard over four days in the Court of Appeal in the first week of April.

The policeman put Kevin Simensen on the ground and beat him with a clenched fist, sprayed him with pepper spray and hit him on the head and body with a baton. Central to the court’s assessment of whether the police officer can be punished is the question of whether the use of force at a petrol station in the center of Kongsberg on the night of 30 October 2022 was justified and necessary.

He is also accused of hitting Simensen’s friend Kristian Teigen twice in the thigh with a baton.

The indictment includes gross bodily harm and grossly negligent breach of duty.

The special unit: – Uncontrolled

The policeman denies criminal responsibility. He claims Simensen tried to resist being pulled away in connection with a disagreement at the Esso station, before he resisted so much on the ground that it was necessary to use a lot of strong physical force.

– The Bureau believes that it was not necessary to use so much force, said the prosecutor, head of prosecution investigation Marit Oliver Storeng from the Bureau, in his procedure, according to The daily newspaper.

Storeng emphasizes that the policeman did not take the time to see what effect the punches had, but continued to punch.

– It all appears to the Bureau as excessive and uncontrolled use of violence, she said.

Appealed acquittal

When the case went to the district court last year, the prosecutor also asked for 60 days of unconditional imprisonment for the policeman. He was then acquitted under dissent. The majority came “beyond doubt” to the fact that the use of violence appeared justifiable. The Attorney General appealed the case.

Defendant Elden asked in court that the client be acquitted, and believes that the police officer performed a lawful act of service. The police are allowed to use force to protect society and have the opportunity to use force if necessary.

– This means that it is not a criminal offense for a police officer to hit, use a baton, lay on the ground, shoot, or in the extreme, kill if that is what the situation requires, he said.