The Bureau is asking that the policeman who shot the man in the knee be acquitted

It is the Bureau that has brought charges against the police officer in his 30s, but on Thursday the Bureau’s head of prosecution investigations, Thomas Bjåstad Arntsen, asked the Sør-Rogaland district court to acquit the man.

– My experience is that through the presentation of evidence in court, the defendant’s explanation has been strengthened in relation to how it appeared during the investigation, says Arntsen, according to TV 2.

It was Stavanger Aftenblad who first mentioned the claim of acquittal.

Denies criminal liability

The offended man in his 30s was shot by the police in connection with a report that he was cutting car tires in a car park in Hillevåg on 22 December 2022. According to the police, a threatening situation arose.

In connection with the threatening situation, shots were fired from the police which hit the 30-year-old in the knee. The man’s injuries were not life-threatening.

The policeman is accused of negligently causing significant damage to body or health, as well as grossly negligent breach of duty. He pleaded not guilty when the case started on Monday.

Arntsen says in court on Friday that the prosecution now believes that the shooting was an act of emergency by the policeman, and not a negligent act.

– We believe that the defendant should be acquitted, but hope that the court writes a thorough judgement, says Arntsen, according to Aftenbladet.

Thinks the Bureau misunderstood

According to Aftenbladet, the policeman’s defender John Christian Elden said in court on Monday that there was disagreement about whether the shot went off by accident. He therefore believes that the case is about the police’s ability to use force in a sharp mission, and not about negligence.

Co-defendant Heidi Reisvang told NTB on the same day that the trial started, that there were grounds for firing a shot.

The defenders say in an email to NTB on Thursday that they are satisfied with the claim of acquittal.

– The policeman is relieved that, as a result of the defense’s presentation of evidence and a misinterpretation of the defendant’s explanation, he has also come to the conclusion that he has acted within what one must be able to do as a policeman, and that there is no basis for punishing him, say the two the lawyers.

– He is looking forward to returning to a normal everyday life and work situation now that this case is probably over, they say further.