Austria In Vienna, there is an association made between Vienna's drug problem and the city's African migrants, which have led to African migrants being racially profiled. There have been several highly publicized incidents in Austria where police have either tortured, publicly humiliated, or violently beaten peoplein some cases, to the point of death. While the most notorious of these incidents occurred in the late 1990s, incidents as recent as 2019 are being investigated by the Vienna Police Department for Special Investigations. :
24 April 1996: Nicola Jevremović, a Serbian Romani man, tried to pay a friend's parking fine and was harassed by police. He escaped and a group of 25 to 40 police officers entered his home without a warrant. The police officers violently beat him and his wife, Violetta Jevremović, in front of their children and then arrested the couple. The couple were made to wait outside for half an hour in front of their neighbours, allegedly to humiliate them. Nicola Jevremović was initially fined for a misdemeanor and found guilty in 1997 of "resisting arrest". Violetta Jevremović was found guilty of "suspicion of resisting arrest". :
November 1998: Dr. C, a black Austrian citizen, was stopped by police after reversing his car into a one-way street and asked, "Why are you driving the wrong way, nigger?". He was beaten unconscious and handcuffed. Police continued beating him after he regained consciousness. After he was arrested, he spent 11 days recovering in the hospital. :
May 1999: Marcus Omofuma, a Nigerian asylum-seeker, was being deported from Vienna when the officers taped him to his chair "like a mummy" and stuck tape over his mouth. He suffocated whilst in police custody. :
28 July 2015: A 27-year-old man, suspected of being a pickpocket, was handcuffed and violently thrown to the ground while in police custody. Police said that the man had been injured while "pressing his head against the wall". Video evidence showed him being passive and compliant before the altercation. There has been a notable lack of commitment to addressing the violation of civilians' rights in Austria, with Amnesty International reporting that in 1998–1999 very few people who violated human rights were brought to justice. This was worsened by the fact that many people who made a complaint against police were brought up on counter-charges such as resisting arrest, defamation, and assault. Austria has legislation that criminalizes hate speech against anyone's race, religion, nationality, or ethnicity. Laws like this discourage discrimination, help with altering public perceptions of different ethnic and cultural groups, and subsequently reduce the number of racially motivated incidents of police brutality. Austria has several
NGOs that are trying to implement broad programs that encourage positive cross-cultural relations and more targeted programs such as racial sensitivity training for police. The Austrian police are formulating their policies to prevent police brutality and to make prosecuting police misconduct fairer. However, it appears that incidents of police brutality are still occurring. Amnesty International suggested that more work needs to be done by the government to reduce negative stereotypes that lead to prejudice, racial profiling, hatred, and police brutality. One suggestion was to disband the
Bereitschaftspolizei, Vienna's riot police, as they have frequently been involved with human rights violations and situations of police brutality.
Belarus In May 2021, authorities stopped
Ryanair Flight 4978 in Belarusian airspace. A Belarusian journalist and activist,
Roman Protasevich was taken off the plane and detained by authorities.
Belgium Belgian law enforcement changed to two police forces operating on a federal and local level in 2001 after a three-tier police system. While the two services remain independent, they integrate common training programs and recruitment. The change was prompted by a national parliamentary report into a series of pedophile murders which proved police negligence and severely diminished public confidence. Currently, approximately 33,000 local police and 900 civilians work across 196 regional police forces. The United Nations (UN) Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (1990) are replicated in Belgian law through The Criminal Code and the Police Functions Act. Belgian judicial authorities were found to also have failed to notify national police watchdog, Committee P, of criminal convictions against police, which is both a direct breach of Belgian judicial procedure and a failure to comply with Article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. An extreme instance in January 2010 led to the death of Jonathan Jacob in Mortsel. He was apprehended by local Mortsel police for behaving strangely under the influence of amphetamines. The footage depicted eight officers from Antwerp police's Special Intervention Unit restraining and beating Jacob after he had been injected with a sedative sparked public outrage. Jacob died from internal bleeding following the incident, but police claimed they did not make any mistakes and "acted carefully, respecting the necessary precautions". In 2013, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) convicted Belgium of human rights violations in an appeal on the treatment of two brothers in custody who had been slapped by an officer. The Grand Chamber voiced its concern that "a slap inflicted by a law-enforcement officer on an individual who is entirely under his control constitutes a serious attack on the individual's dignity". The Belgian League of Human Rights (LDH) monitored police brutality through the Observatory of Police Violence (OBSPOL) after Belgium downplayed cases. OBSPOL was formed in 2013 and collects testimonies on its website, informs police brutality victims of their rights, and strongly advocating public policy being adapted in of favor victim protection. The case got widespread media attention, but the police officer only ended up with a 400€ fine and one year of suspended prison sentence. In 2018, Lamine Bangoura was killed in his own apartment by eight policemen because he had not paid rent. In the attempt to evict him out of his flat, the policemen used unwarranted brutality which resulted in Lamine's death. In 2019, Mehdi, 17-year-old Moroccan boy was run over by a police car on patrol. In 2020, Adil, a 19-year-old Moroccan boy was chased by a police car for not respecting
COVID-19 lockdowns. He was hit by a police car to stop him in his chase, which killed him on impact. Sources say it was on purpose, even though he was on a scooter. Both these cases had been filed as dismissed. In 2021, Ibrahima was arrested. He was filming a police control. The authorities however, said he was arrested for not respecting the curfew, which starts at 10pm, even though his arrest happened at 6pm. He died in police custody, in unknown circumstances. His death prompted a lot of reaction from the public, who organized a protest a few days after his killing.
Croatia The Constitution of
Croatia prohibits torture, mistreatment, and cruel and degrading punishment under Article 17, and accords arrested and convicted persons humane treatment under Article 25 of the OHCHR. Croatia has a centralised police force under the command of the Ministry of the Interior with approximately 20,000 police officers. From 1991 to 1995, the Croatian police, in addition to their regular police tasks, were a militarised force charged with the role of defending the country while seceding from Yugoslavia. Military training taught police officers to use firearms before exhausting other procedures, which has affected the philosophy and behaviour of police officers in using excessive force. Developments were made to achieve democratic policing as a modern, professional force that is also accountable to the public. In 2009, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Croatian police authorities for ignoring requests to starting an investigation into perpetrators who violently attacked a Croatian citizen. The Croatian police have a history of discriminatory abuse and failing to recognise violence against the
Romani minority living in Croatia. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance noted that Croatian police abuse against minority groups including Romani were continually reported; police authorities are reluctant to take violence against Romani people seriously. The Romani women's association, "Better Future", reported that police had beaten a pregnant Romani woman who attempted to evade arrest for black market selling in 2002. This included segregating nationalities, with Syrian, Iraqi, and Afghani nationals gaining entry to Croatia as refugees more easily than other nationalities. The Danish Independent Police Complaints Authority () (the Authority) handles the investigation of police misconduct allegations. Annual statistics released by the Authority revealed a reduction in the number of complaints against police from 2012 to 2015. In 2012, the Authority received 726 conduct complaints from across Denmark; in 2015, the number of complaints fell to 509, representing approximately 0.05 complaints per officer. A majority of complaints stem from general misconduct, such as traffic violations and unprofessional behaviour (e.g., swearing). However, the 2015 Annual Report identifies some instances where the Police of Denmark used excessive force. Another investigation looked into the alleged use of force against a 16-year-old boy on 28 June 2016, which resulted in charges being laid against the two offending police officers from the Sydsjællands- and Lolland-Falster police department. Although examples of police brutality are not common, highly publicised incidents have been reported. • In 2002, 21-year-old Jens Arne Orskov Mathiason died while in police custody on the way to prison. The incident raised concerns over the behaviour of the officers involved, the thoroughness of the subsequent investigation, and the willingness of the Director of Public Prosecutions to hold the officers accountable for their alleged failings. As a result,
Amnesty International called for the establishment of new policies to investigate human rights violations and enforce compliance under the
European Convention on Human Rights. • In January 2016, a man died in police custody after being arrested by seven Copenhagen Police officers. • In August 2009, police in Copenhagen were heavily criticised for their response to an attempt to remove Iraqi refugees who were living in a city church. Video allegedly showed the police using violence against the refugees and their supporters. Between 12,000 and 20,000 people subsequently protested against these actions. To ensure that police are well-trained and to mitigate the risk of police brutality, police recruits undergo approximately three years of training; at the National Police College, recruits learn about police theory, the Road Traffic Act, criminal law, physical training, other legislation, first aid, radio communication, securing evidence, identifying drugs, preventing crime, management, human rights, and cultural sociology to name a few. After this training period, recruits are promoted to the position of a police constable. By comparison, US police academies provide an average of 19 weeks of classroom instruction. The prolonged training in Denmark was observed to increase the ability of police to effectively de-escalate conflicts and enact their duties professionally and responsibly. To keep police officers accountable and to ensure that they perform their duties in compliance with Danish, European and international laws, the Independent Police Complaints Authority has the power to handle criminal investigations against police officers and determine complaints of police misconduct.
Estonia The
Estonian Police force was temporarily dissolved in 1940 when
Estonia lost its independence to the Soviet Union after it was occupied, before the Police Act passed in 1990 dissolved the Soviet
militsiya and re-established it. In 2010, the Public Order Police, Police Board, Central Criminal Police, Border Guard, Citizenship, and Migration Board merged into the Police and Border Guard Board. It is the largest state agency in Estonia with over 5000 people in employment. The main objectives for this organisation are to maintain security and public order, crime prevention, detection and investigation, securing the European Union (EU) border, citizenship and identity documentation administration. The Estonian Ministry of Justice reports that crime figures dropped by 10% from 2013 to 2015. They instruct that those who find themselves detained by the police should comply with their instructions and those who experience a language barrier are allowed to "request the presence of an interpreter and should not sign any documents or reports until they are confident that the document's contents are consistent with the details of the incident or the victim's statement". For Russian citizens, it represented Soviet Russia's victory over Germany in World War II and their claim to equal rights in Estonia. One Russian rioter was killed and other protesters were arrested. Due to the overcrowded detention centres, many of the detainees were taken to cargo terminals in Tallinn's seaport. Then-chairman of the
Constitution Party Andrei Zarenkov stated "people were forced to squat for hours or lie on the concrete floor with their hands tied behind their backs. The police used plastic handcuffs which caused great pain. The police selectively beat the detainees including women and teenagers. We have pictures of a toilet which is stained with the blood of the injured". The police department denied all claims made against them. On 22 May 2007, the Office of Prosecutor General of Estonia received more than fifty complaints on the police brutality that occurred during Bronze Night and opened seven criminal cases against them. In November 2007, the
United Nations Committee against torture expressed concerns over the use of excessive force and brutality by law enforcement personnel in regards to Bronze Night. The
Council of Europe published in its report that those detained were not granted all the fundamental safeguards, including the right to a doctor or a lawyer, and to inform a relative or a third party of their arrest. It was later discovered that the accused were only allowed outside contact and lawyer assistance when brought before a judge. Several detainees were denied access to a doctor while in police custody despite displaying visible injuries.
France The policing structure of the nineteenth century
France has been linked to the outcomes of France's reorganisation during the
French Revolution. There have been multiple instances of violent enforcement stemming from issues around racial and geographic differences throughout France's history. Additionally, the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reported human rights violations by France including physical and psychological abuse as a result of excessive force towards Muslims when undertaking house raids. France's police ombudsman was dealing with 48 judicial inquiries into against its citizens in 2017, in which 1,000 individuals have been arrested within three months. There have been several high-profile cases of alleged police brutality which have gained media attention, including the death of Lamine Dieng on 17 June 2007, who died after suffocating in a police van while he was constrained. The investigation of Lamine's death is ongoing. Grey areas around
police accountability have come to light, including questions over how his body was covered in bruises and whether or not
carotid restraint (which involves constricting the carotid arteries) was used against him. The European Court of Human Rights condemned France in 1998 for their apparent use of carotid constriction. protesters holding a sign referring to victims of police violence, 9 February 2019 Protests over disputed
labor laws have revealed the extreme nature of police brutality in France, as many videos have surfaced in the media depicting police using disproportionate force on protesters. French officials have forced these aggressive videos to be destroyed. A group known as the Stolen Lives Collective formed in response to the increased number of cases of police brutality in French communities. It represents families of those who have been affected by police brutality. The group strongly demands the government to act against police brutality and to reduce racism present across the police force in France. France's yellow vests protests began against an increased fuel tax made by President
Emmanuel Macron. Participation in the weekly protests diminished due to violence, particularly due to the loss of eyes and hands, and the development of neurological disorders caused by police
blast balls. The protests eventually stopped due to the
COVID-19 pandemic but continued again after health restrictions lifted. In June 2023,
a series of riots began after the
killing of Nahel Merzouk.
Finland Historically, police brutality was commonplace during the 1920s and 1930s following the
Finnish Civil War. Some local sections of the secret police (
Etsivä Keskuspoliisi) routinely beat up arrested communists. In 2006, there were 7,700 police officers in Finland. That police force was seen to be more law-abiding than firemen; In 2007, an Iranian-born immigrant, Rasoul Pourak, was beaten in a cell at Pasila Police Station, Helsinki, inflicting bruises all over Pourak's body, an open wound over his eyebrow, and a fractured skull. Facial bones were also broken and he was left permanently damaged. One guard participating in the assault was sentenced to an 80-day suspended prison sentence. In 2010, two police officers assaulted a man in a wheelchair in connection with an arrest. The police twisted the man's hands and pushed him backward and broke a femur in the process. In 2013, two policemen were sentenced to 35
day-fines for assault and breach of duty in connection with stomping on a
Romani man's head onto the asphalt three times. According to the police, he had resisted, contrary to eyewitness accounts. A third officer testified that the event was captured on surveillance video, which was stored but accidentally destroyed. The officer also stated that they had seen the footage and claimed that the video did not show any resistance on the part of the victim, but also that the assault happened out of the camera's view.
Germany Germany is sensitive towards its history in implementing policing practices, though this has not stopped international bodies from identifying a clear pattern of police ill-treatment of foreigners and members of ethnic minorities. Every year, around 2,000 complaints of police brutality are reported, though it is highly suspected that the actual number of cases is under-reported. As high-profile cases like the 2014 Cologne New Year's Eve incident become more prevalent, racist and xenophobic attitudes have been reflected in instances of police brutality. In 2025, United Nation experts on human rights urged Germany to halt criminalisation and police violence against Palestinian solidarity activism. High profile cases of police brutality have been reported to occur as far back as the 1960s: •
2 June 1967:
Benno Ohnesorg was shot and killed by a policeman during a demonstration against the state visit of the Shah of Iran,
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. •
28 May 1999: Sudanese national Aamir Ageeb died of asphyxia during his forced deportation from Frankfurt. Before departure, Ageeb was forcibly restrained by tape and rope. During take-off, police officers allegedly forced his head and upper body between his knees. Furthermore, most German states do not require their police force to carry identification, making it difficult for victims to lodge complaints against individuals. Watchdog organizations have also criticized the lack of independent institutions for investigations into police violence. Despite this objective lack of accountability for policing practice, public levels of trust in police remain among the highest in the EU only behind Scandinavian countries and Switzerland. This allows Germany to maintain one of the lowest levels of public order and safety spending in the EU, at 1.5 percent of gross domestic profit, compared to the EU average of 1.8 percent. As a result, Germany has a police force of only 300 officers per 100,000 of its population. Lower numbers exist in Scandinavian countries and the UK, suggesting that Germany is attempting to build the impression of having a more
laissez-faire approach to policing, despite instances of police brutality. German police officers rarely use their guns; as of August 2017, 109 deaths by service weapons since 1998 were reported, and only 8 fatalities in the two years before the report.
Greece The Greek Police, known officially as the
Hellenic Police, assumed their current structure in 1984 as a result of merging the Gendarmerie (
Chorofylaki) and the Urban Police Forces (
Astynomia Poleon). Composed of central and regional departments, the Hellenic Police have a relatively long history of police brutality. One of the first documented incidents dates back to 1976, where 16-year-old activist Sideris Isidoropoulos was killed by police while he put up campaign posters on a public building. In 1980, during a demonstration commemorating the
Athens Polytechnic uprising, 20-year-old protester Stamatina Kanelopoulou and 24-year-old Iakovos Koumis
were beaten to death by the Greek police. The protests still occur to this day for protesters to commemorate the 1973 uprising. The protests are still commonly affected by police brutality around the time of the event. On 17 November 1985 another protester, 15-year-old
Michalis Kaltezas, was murdered by the police during the demonstration commemorating the Polytechnic uprising. The level and severity of
police brutality in Greece over the last few years have been profound. Due to the recent financial crisis, many austerity measures have been enforced, resulting in many individuals and families struggling to survive. Greek citizens opposed these austerity measures from the beginning and showed their disapproval with strikes and demonstrations. In response, police brutality has significantly increased, with consistent reports on the use of tear gas, severe injuries inflicted by the police force, and unjustified detention of protesters. Allegations against police have emerged specifically concerning their use of unprovoked brutal force towards journalists documenting the demonstration and against many students who partook in a peaceful protest. Police allegedly sprayed protesters with chemical irritants from close range – in one instance a 17-year-old girl with asthma had been treated in the hospital after this attack and when she informed police of her condition they laughed. The 1998 Human Rights Watch World Report revealed that the Roma minority in Hungary were continually discriminated against. It was evident in the police force, with reports of police mistreatment and brutality. The 2006 protests in response to Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány's speech where he said that the Socialist Party lied their way into office demonstrated the disproportionate measures police took particularly police brutality on non-violent civilians. Police threw gas grenades and used rubber bullets to shoot protesters. Protesters and non-violent civilians passing by were targeted, tackled, and injured by the police. Police broke the fingers of a handcuffed man and raided restaurants and bars to find radical demonstrators. Police brutality ranged from offensive language to physically attacking protesters. Reports show that brutality extended to bypassers, tourists, news reporters, and paramedics. To prevent further police ill-treatment, the Independent Police Complaints Board was established in 2008, but since 2010, its role had been diminished until being completely eliminated in 2020.
Police brutality is an issue even today, and its victims have a hard time proving their case: according to the
Hungarian Helsinki Committee, an
NGO standing up against injustice by the authorities, only 4% of the victims make out a case against the police (while 69% do so when the victim is a police officer). In average, only 3-6 percent of reports lead to a prosecution of abusive police, of which only 2-4 are convicted. Violent migrant
pushbacks on the Hungarian-Serbian border are even more prevalent, systemic, and explicitly encouraged by the Hungarian government: only in 2022, 150,000 pushback cases were recorded by the police (often after beating up their victims - even children - and setting dogs on them). This practice has even been condemned by the
European Court of Human Rights: its 2022 verdict ruled that it violates the prohibition of collective expulsions and the right to remedy. Hungarian Spectrum blogger Eva S. Bologh suggest that rather than acting reactively, Hungary should work to improve their police training programs and work to provide ongoing training and assessments to ensure that police officers in the Rendőrség, are competent and fair in their ethical judgements when it comes to the proportionality of a crime or situation and the use of force. The requirements to become a police officer in Hungary are to graduate from high school, pass a matriculation exam, and complete two years in the police academy. Compared to other countries around the world, the two-year program is shorter than Denmark's (3-year program), and longer than Australia's (33-week program) and the United States' (18 weeks). The current two-year program is quite lengthy, however, time is not the issue. Most of what the Hungarian police academy teaches is academic theory and not much on practice. Instances of Northern Irish Police brutality were confirmed by the 1978 report from the
European Court of Human Rights, which concluded that five interrogation techniques used by the police, which included wall standing, deprivation of food, drink or sleep, subjection to noise, and forcing detainees to remain in the same position for hours, were instances of
cruel and degrading treatment. Such brutality was not recognized by domestic courts until 2010, where 113 people, some of them minors, came forward to have their complaints heard. At present Northern Ireland still faces policing issues, though not to the extent during the Troubles. There are concerns about harassment by police against children aged 14–18 in low socio-economic areas of Northern Ireland which have led to a deep level of mistrust between the youth and the police. Catholics in Northern Ireland find that they are treated differently by police due to the police force being largely Protestant. 48% of Catholics that were surveyed in Northern Ireland reported harassment by the police. Instances of harassment include police officials spitting on individuals or enforcing laws in a discriminatory fashion. The PSNI has moved away from police brutality given the focus on accountability for the past and the significant decrease in the use of the baton amongst police members (guns are rarely used); however, harassment continues to be a key issue for Northern Ireland.
Republic of Ireland The Republic of Ireland's police force is called the
Garda Síochána (Garda) and employs around 14,500 staff. Ireland's criminal laws allow "reasonable force" to be used by the police with regard to all the circumstances, which alludes to officers actions being proportionate in the circumstances. Excessive use of force is unlawful, though section 76(7) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 allows the following considerations when deciding on what force is reasonable. A person acting for a legitimate purpose may not be able to weigh up the exact necessary action at the time or may act instinctively but honestly – in these instances, the use of force may be considered reasonable. This is acknowledged by the Garda, who state: "Unfortunately, even in the most civilised democratic jurisdictions, tragedies resulting from police use of force will continue to devastate families and communities". The use of force by Irish Police officers has been of international concern, when the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture reported on this issue in the Republic three times within a decade. Incidents that prompted this concern centred around the death of John Carty, a man suffering from mental illness who was shot and killed by police; the prosecution of seven Garda police members due to assaults on protesters in 2002 and in 2005; and a fifteen-year-old boy who died after spending time in Garda custody. Given this state of events, the Garda engaged independent Human Rights experts to conduct a review of the force who found numerous deficiencies. The government responded by implementing new procedures based on this report. These include a new complaints procedure available against the Garda (Ombudsman Commission), disciplinary procedures and whistle-blowing protections.
Italy The use of excessive violence by police officers has been a major concern in Italy since the 2000s. Beatings and violence are commonly used during demonstrations, and several murders have been carried out. The following incidents caused concern in the country: • On 11 July 2001, 23-year-old student
Carlo Giuliani was killed by police officers when they opened fire on a group of protesters during the
anti-globalization demonstration outside the July 2001 G8 summit. 25-year-old police officer Mario Placanica was considered to be responsible for Giuliani's death but was not charged. Placanica asserted that he was being used as a scapegoat to cover up for the responsible parties and that other officers caused Giuliani's death, shooting at Giuliani from a nearby location. Nobody was arrested for Giuliani's murder. • On 11 July 2003, Marcello Lonzi, aged 29, was beaten and tortured to death in his cell. Lonzi was arrested in the city of
Livorno four months prior, as he was suspected of carrying out an attempted theft. Although his death was considered to be caused by "a heart attack after a fall", signs of torture were found on his body. Nobody was arrested for Lonzi's death. • On 25 September 2005 in
Ferrara, at around 5 a.m., a woman called police claiming that she saw "a strange man walking around". The man, 18-year-old Federico Aldrovandi, who had spent the night in
Bologna before returning to Ferrara, was stopped by four policemen. The four officers then began to beat and torture Aldrovandi, killing him at the scene. The officers were arrested and sentenced to three years and six months in prison. • On 27 October 2006 in
Trieste, 34-year-old
schizophrenic Riccardo Rasman was launching firecrackers to celebrate his recent employment as a waste collector. Police were called by a resident as he heard suspected shots (which were the firecrackers' noise). Four police officers stormed the house, beating Rasman. The man was hit with iron objects and gagged. The officer pressed their knee on his neck and back, causing Rasman to die of
asphyxia. The four officers were sentenced to just six months of prison. • On 14 October 2007 in
Pietralunga, 44-year-old carpenter Aldo Bianzino and his wife, Roberta Radici, were arrested for a handful of marijuana plants at their home. Bianzino stated that the plants were for personal use. When the couple arrived at a police station, they were separated. Two days later, an officer approached Radici in her cell and asked her if her husband has heart problems. Radici responded that Aldo never had health issues and was in good condition, and demanded to know why the officer had asked her the question. The officer responded that Aldo Bianzino had been brought to the hospital in serious condition. Three hours later, Radici was freed from her cell and inquired as to when she could see Aldo. The officer callously responded: "after the autopsy." During Bianzino's autopsy, several signs of violence emerged, including broken ribs, damage to the liver and spleen, and several bruises. A policeman was sentenced in 2015 to a year in prison for lack of assistance. Roberta Radici died of cancer in 2008. • On 11 November 2007 near
Arezzo, a group of five friends, including 27-year-old
Gabriele Sandri, were in a car headed to a football match between
Inter and
S.S. Lazio. The five men, supporters of S.S. Lazio, were stopped by a car of
Juventus supporters, and a fight erupted. Policeman Luigi Spaccarotella intervened and opened fire, killing Gabriele Sandri with a single gunshot wound to his neck. The policeman was sentenced to nine years and five months in prison. However, he was freed in 2017 with semi-liberty. • On 14 June 2008 in
Varese, was stopped along with his friend Alberto Bigigoggero by two police officers, who demanded to see the two men's documents. Uva refused, angrily kicking at the door of a nearby house. Other police officers arrived at the scene and arrested Uva and Bigigoggero. Uva died the next morning. Signs of violence were on Uva's body, and Bigigoggero confirmed that Uva had been tortured. Attorney general Massimo Gaballo asked for ten years of imprisonment for each of the eight officers involved in Uva's death. However, none of the officers were charged. Uva's sister insisted that her brother was murdered, receiving support from
Luigi Manconi, who promised to fight for the truth. • On 15 October 2009 in
Rome, 31-year-old Stefano Cucchi was stopped by five policemen after they had seen him selling transparent packaging to a man in exchange for money. Cucchi was arrested and brought to a police station, where officers found cocaine and hashish in his pocket, along with medicine for
epilepsy, as Cucchi was affected by the disease. Cucchi was described by officers as "a homeless foreigner", but he was an Italian who resided regularly at a home in Rome. Cucchi was beaten before his trial, which led him to walk with fatigue and with evident punch-inflicted injuries to his eyes. A week later, his condition worsened, as he continued to be tortured in custody, resulting in several fractures and a stay in the hospital. Cucchi died at the hospital on 22 October. Stefano's sister Ilaria became an activist since her brother's death, bringing national attention to the case and continuing to fight for justice. In 2019, two officers, Alessio di Bernardo and Raffaele d'Alessandro were sentenced to twelve years in jail for manslaughter. • On 22 July 2020 in
Piacenza, seven
Carabinieri were arrested after being accused of drug trafficking, receiving stolen goods, extortion, illegal arrest, torture, grievous bodily harm, embezzlement, abuse of office, and fraud. The "leader" of the group, officer Montella, arrested and charged people with fake proof of crimes that the detainees never committed, placing in the pockets of the people in custody the drugs that he smuggled. A
Moroccan man was illegally arrested by the seven officers; the man accused Montella of punching him several times while in custody and reported that the officer laughed during the torture. Montella later admitted that he carried out the torture after initially trying to accuse only his colleagues. However, many other cases of torture inside the police station and outside during arrests were reported, as in the case of a
Nigerian man who was approached by Montella; a photo of the man was taken during the arrest, showing him covered with blood. Montella claimed that the man "had a fall" during the arrest; however, prosecutors did not believe Montella's version of the events. A
Brazilian woman accused marshal Orlando, one of the charged officers, of being forced to have sex with him through blackmail and intimidation, as the marshal threatened to have her deported back to Brazil. The woman was also beaten at the police station by Orlando; she reported that the seven officers consumed cocaine inside the police station several times, and orgies with prostitutes happened there; Orlando was the one who brought the drugs inside the station. Several prostitutes were also beaten and threatened by the officers. The seven officers were sentenced between three and twelve years in prison. • On 1 July 2021, 52 prison guards were arrested and suspended on the charges of aggravated torture, aggravated ill-treatment and causing multiple injuries to a group of prisoners, who had demanded better
COVID-19 protections, at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison in
Caserta on 6 April 2020. A video footage emerged in which there were shocking scenes of prisoners being kicked, slapped and beaten with truncheons. This happened after a riot erupted in the prison as inmates demanded face masks and Covid-19 tests in reaction to an outbreak of the virus. The inmates were allegedly made to strip, kneel and be beaten by guards who wore helmets to conceal their identity.
Latvia Latvia became an independent republic in 1918 and attempted to develop an effective and accepted police force, moving away from the untrusted
Russian Tsarist administration. Despite positive post-independence aims to reform the police system and to maintain public order and security, the
Latvian police were underfunded and under-resourced. The
National Militia was created in response, consisting of a group of volunteers to protect public order. Policing during this period was quite successful and was assimilated to what is today referred to as community policing. From 1940 to 1991,
Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union, and all previous regulations and practices were overruled by the Communist regime, which brought in the Soviet
militsiya. Due to Soviet ideals on policing that considered criminals to be the enemy, a high level of institutional secrecy existed and meant that there was no independent review of policing. More significantly, the approach of community policing was replaced with a militarised authority based on Marxist ideologies. During this time, an imbalance existed between police actions and citizens' rights. Despite the lack of statistics, it is clear that police brutality was a major issue, as ustrated by the case where the former nominal head of the militsiya (in practice - the secret police of
the KGB of the Latvian SSR)
Alfons Noviks was sentenced to life imprisonment in this time period for genocide against the Latvian people. In 1991, the independence of the state of Latvia was restored, which saw another change in the police system with the implementation of the
Law on Police on 5 June. This restructured the police into State, Security, and Local Government levels. The
Law on Police reiterated ethical requirements, where police officers were prohibited from performing or supporting acts relating to "torture or other cruel, inhuman or demeaning treatment or punishment". However, despite these reforms, issues regarding police brutality arose among the Russian population living in Latvia; in 1998, police forces were accused of dispersing a rally of predominately Russian pensioners through the use of excessive force and brutality. This hostility towards Russians remained in the following years, and despite lack of official statistics, police brutality continued to be an issue after Latvia's independence. In 2005, the
Latvian Center for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies (LCHRES) found some instances of brutality and "severe abuse" within police authorities, especially on persons in custody. Reports showed high levels of corruption within Latvian law enforcement authorities, with 42 members convicted of corruption offences between 2003 and 2004. For the Latvian community, this meant that should an incident of police brutality occur, they may not have an independent body to report to nor is it guaranteed to be handled impartially without corruption. Reports from Latvian prisons illustrate cases where police batons were used to inflict serious harm to inmates, including causing broken ribs, which often were not medically assessed for up to two days. To address levels of police brutality, LCHRES conducted a study where it set up an anonymous hotline. During this four-day study, LCHRES received almost 300 calls and written complaints regarding police brutality and misconduct. This identifies fundamental flaws in the Latvian police authorities. Since joining the
European Union in 2004, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has assessed the Latvian criminal justice system several times. While the CPT gives appropriate authorities recommendations for improvements such as a review board for ill-treatment, they found that in 2011, Latvian authorities did not enact any of their 2007 recommendations. Their 2011 report outlined some cases of police brutality within the prison system, with allegations such as punching, kicking and a few cases of misuse of police batons and excessively tight handcuffing. This was alleged to occur mostly while being apprehended or at the police station (including during questioning). Despite the flaws within the Latvian Police system, CPT has found that the number of allegations for poor treatment is decreasing over the years. The Latvian Police force operates under the Professional Ethics and Conduct Code of the State Police Personnel, which states "a police officer shall use force, special facilities or weapon only in the cases stipulated by due course of law and to attain a legal aim. The use of spontaneous or -intentioned force, special facilities or weapon shall not be justified", recognising that the authorities are conscious of police brutality, and given more time, it is likely that the figures will continue to decrease.
Luxembourg The Luxembourg Police force has 1,603 officers and is known as the "Grand Ducal Police". The Grand Ducal Police is the primary law enforcement agency in Luxembourg and has been operating since 1 January 2000, when the Grand Ducal Gendarmerie (previous Luxembourg military) merged with the police force. Due to Luxembourg's relatively small population of approximately 500,000 people, the Grand Ducal Police are in charge of several duties that are often separated by jurisdictions such as Border Control and Internal Military operations. Police brutality is not perceived to be a serious threat to society in Luxembourg. The European Union's 2014 Anti-Corruption report placed Luxembourg, along with Denmark and Finland, as having the lowest incidents of reported police brutality within the European Union. Due to many positive characteristics of their society, such as freedom of media, the encouragement of public participation in the legal system, and transparency mechanisms, the public also have a deep trust in the Grand Ducal police force. Laws in Luxembourg specifically distinguish between coercion and force in the 1973 Act on Regulating the Use of Force. This Act regulates the use of police weapons and specific technical means of physical force used by police. However, this Act does not cover other forms of physical coercion by police officers such as the use of handcuffs as these are seen as basic police measures that do not require specific legislation. The officer must be legitimately executing his duty and his actions and must be compatible under the principles of proportionality, subsidiarity, reasonability, and measure to use force. The 2015 Human Rights Report on Government practices by the United States indicated no cases of police brutality in Luxembourg, suggesting that the Grand Ducal Police have effective mechanisms in place to investigate and punish potential abuse and corruption. Although police brutality is almost nonexistent in Luxembourg, there are effective procedures in place for the investigation and punishment of any potential misconduct by the Grand Ducal Police.
Malta Malta's Police Force (MPF) is one of the oldest in Europe, with the Maltese government taking over the force in 1921 following the grant of self-governance. There are approximately 1,900 members in the Force. Under the Police Act of 1961, Part V deals with the use of force, where"police officers may use such moderate and proportionate force as may be necessary [...]" (Article 96); however, according to Article 100, "It shall be considered as an offence against discipline if a police officer uses force for considerations extraneous to those permitted by law and the circumstances of the case". Similarly, the Council of Europe (of which Malta is a member) follows the five principles developed by the
European Court of Human Rights, where definition 16 states that police officers "may use reasonable force when lawfully exercising powers". In 2008, Lawrence Gonzi (The Minister for Justice and Home Affairs) called upon Martin Scicluna, a former civil servant and currently an expert on security issues at the Prime Minister's Office, to conduct an independent inquiry into 24 March 2008 police brutality incident. The inquiry required the investigation of "allegations of beatings carried out on detainees at Safi Detention Centre by members of the Detention Service on 24 March 2008 and to make any recommendations necessary in the light of [his] findings". Following the results of the inquiry of Scicluna, made public by the
Maltese Government, it was concluded that "excessive force was used by Detention Service Personnel". which led to the establishment of the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) to "maintain and safeguard the integrity of the Malta Police Force through an internal system of investigation that is objective, fair, equitable, impartial and just", where complaints or allegations on the use of force can be monitored and responded to. Although Malta has attempted to tackle the police brutality through the implementation of independent systems such as the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), the
US Department of State 2010 report on Malta's human rights found that "authorities detained irregular immigrants under harsh conditions for up to 18 months during the review of their protected status." In addition, the 2013 US Department of State report found that although there were no government reports on the use of brutality in detention centers, on 2 December 2013 media reported the sentencing of two former prison guards to five years in prison and another two guards to three months in prison after finding them guilty of beating an escaped prisoner in 2008, illustrating the gradual development of the IAU in limiting the use of police brutality. After the IAU was implemented, the
Human Rights Committee has raised questions on the use of force by state officials with respect to the countering of detention center riots, where police were accused of punching and striking detainees. An inquiry was consequently conducted in 2011 and 2012 following riots, resulting in criminal proceedings against the law enforcement officials responsible. In addition, Giacomo Santini and Tina Acketoft (The Chairs of the Migration and Equality Committees of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe) expressed "grave concern at an increasing number of incidents of state violence against migrants and refugees". They called upon Maltese authorities to conduct a rapid investigation emphasising the need to forbid violence against migrants and refugees, whether by state parties or by individuals. The
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, concerning the conditions of migrants in detention, recommended that the "State party take appropriate measures to improve detention conditions and refrain from resorting to excessive use of force to counter riots by immigrants in detention centers, and also to avoid such riot".
List of alleged cases Netherlands The Netherlands is signatory to the
European Convention on Human Rights detailing the limits and responsibilities of police powers, and as such demonstrates a public commitment to the restricted legal use of police powers. These powers include the use of reasonable force to enable the effective discharge of duties, with the stipulation force be used proportionately and only as a last resort. While Dutch society has a history of support for liberal values, it has been subject to practicing racial profiling and increased levels of police violence towards racial minorities. Van der Leun writes that suspicion and mistrust of some racial groups is evident and perpetuated by police attitudes at all levels of command. This trend in police behaviour has drawn comment from Amnesty International, where a 2015 report describes Dutch law enforcement officers as having a tendency to correlate suspicious criminal behaviour with specific ethnic characteristics, most notably those typical of persons of Moroccan heritage. Current political discourse in the Netherlands often supports the notion of inferiority of some cultures and is evidenced by the growth in support for far-right political ideologies in recent decades.
Poland squads with
police batons during
martial law in Poland, 1981–1983. The
sarcastic caption reads "outstretched hands of understanding" or "outstretched hands for agreement". The Polish police (
Policja) force aims to "serve and protect the people, and to maintain public order and security". Polish laws prohibit torture or degrading treatment and set out punishment for police officers including demotion and removal from the police force.
History A key factor influencing the levels of police brutality in
Poland has been the move from a communist state to a democracy. Force was particularly used by the
ZOMO squads, which were elite units of
Citizens' Militia (MO) during the
Polish People's Republic. As a result, the opposition branded ZOMO with the nickname "Communist
Gestapo". It is argued that Poland's transition has resulted in a more transparent system, reducing levels of police brutality. Although police brutality exists within Poland cases are much more likely to be handled by the criminal justice system with a greater chance for resolution through the courts. demonstrating the improvement in trust between the police and the general public. Although there is a more open police force within Poland, many organizations still have issues against police brutality. The 2013 United States Department of State report on Poland raised several concerns of police brutality;
Issues with sports fans In recent years one of the main sources of controversy concerning Polish police brutality has been the use of rubber bullets to disperse uncooperative crowds at sporting events. In 1998,
major riots occurred when a young basketball fan was killed by the police. In 2004, a man was killed and a woman injured in a riot when Polish police accidentally shot live ammunition instead of rubber bullets into the crowd after an association football game.
Another set of riots occurred in 2015 in response to a
pitch invasion during a football match. Although rubber bullets were used, one man was hit in the neck and later died at the hospital. A former police officer justified the use of weapons as a means to combat
football hooliganism.
Issues with Roma The Polish police also have a history of police brutality within the
Roma community. There are multiple cases of police beatings and other discriminatory acts against the Roma by the police. The men that were beaten were hospitalised for broken bones and other injuries; they were charged with vulgar words and behavior in public.
Portugal Portugal is ranked the fourth most heavily policed country in the world. The police force is divided into five main organisations, with the
Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) having the most prominent urban presence. The PSP has a diverse range of duties and responsibilities, which include protecting the rights of citizens and ensuring democratic legality. The use of weapons by Portuguese police is permitted only when: This is restrictive on multiple counts; for example, police are not permitted to use their firearms when an offender is running away.
Football hooliganism Portuguese police have adopted an aggressive position in combating football hooliganism. Despite their means being considered disproportionate, the police view the heavy-handed nature of their tactics as a necessary and successful approach towards protecting the community and maintaining social order. In 2015, a viral video showed a Benfica fan being heavily beaten in front of his two children outside a football stadium. The footage, filmed by a local television station, showed Jose Magalhaes leaving the football match early with his children and elderly father before being confronted by police officers. Although the family appeared calm, Magalhaes was tackled to the ground by police and repeatedly hit with a metal baton, while his father was punched in the face twice. More police rushed to the scene to shield the children aged nine and thirteen. A statement released by the PSP acknowledged the controversial incident and announced that an investigation was launched against the officer responsible for initiating the attack. The officer was later suspended for 90 days by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The statement also defended policing the large crowds in the aftermath of the football match. Riot police had clashed with supporters the following day in Lisbon as fans celebrated Benfica's title victory. The harsh approach was described as sufficient, justified, and necessary to prevent the social disorder from escalating.
Racism There have been suggestions of institutionalised racism within the Portuguese police force, with activists claiming that discrimination is the deep-rooted cause of police brutality in Portugal. In its 2015/2016 annual report on Portugal, Amnesty International condemned the excessive force used by police against migrant and minority communities. Despite a good record in migrant integration, historical parallels can be drawn between Portugal's colonial past and modern police racism. According to activists, police have killed 14 young black men since 2001; however, no police officer has been held responsible for the deaths. 17 police officers from the Alfragide police station were eventually sent to trial on a variety of charges, including physical aggression, torture, document forging, and aggravated kidnapping. As of October 2018, the trial is ongoing, with victims being heard in court. The
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has raised concerns about police mistreatment of minorities in Portugal in all of its reports on the country. In its fifth country report of 2018, ECRI mentions the Alfragide case in connection to the failure of IGAI (
Inspeção-Geral da Administração Interna) or officers higher up in the chain of command to stop the abuses. IGAI is currently the body responsible for scrutinizing police activities in the country, but it is part of the Ministry of the Interior like the police forces. In its 2018 report, ECRI recommended that such work should be carried out by the country's
Ombudsman, an equality body, or by a new and (entirely) independent body that can be created for that purpose. An example of police brutality that occurred in 2012 is the night raid of a Roma campsite by the GNR (
Guarda Nacional Republicana), in
Cabanelas,
Vila Verde. Some of the people living in the camp, including children and women, were reportedly attacked by GNR officers. Six Roma that were detained in the operation allege that they were later tortured and humiliated in the GNR station of
Amares; the GNR denied the accusations, while
SOS Racismo promised to file a complaint against the force. The last remnant of overt institutional racism, in Portugal, is article 81 of GNR's regulation law, which provides for an increased policing of nomadic people, who in general are known to be mostly Roma; the regulation's constitutionality was unsuccessfully challenged in the 1980s.
Russia Russian protests have gained media attention with the reelection of
Vladimir Putin in 2012. More attention has been given to the frequency of police brutality shown on posted videos online. Then-president
Dmitry Medvedev initiated reforms of the police force in an attempt to minimize the violence by firing the Moscow police chief and centralising police powers. Police divisions in Russia are often based on loyalty systems that favor bureaucratic power among political elites. Phone tapping and business raids are common practice in the country, and often fail to give
due process to citizens. Proper investigations into police officials are still considered insufficient by Western standards. In 2012, Russia's top investigative agency investigated charges that four police officers had tortured detainees under custody. Human rights activists claim that Russian police use torture techniques to extract
false confessions from detainees. Police regulations require officers to meet quotas for solving crimes, which encourages false arrests to meet their numbers. In 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian police were seen attacking protesters. In the early days, when Russia was part of the Soviet Union, the secret police and authorities used to detain people and send certain people to the gulags.
Slovakia Police brutality in Slovakia is systematic and widely documented, but is almost exclusively enacted on the Romani minority. The nation-state itself has particularly racist attitudes toward the Romani minority dating back to before the split of Czechoslovakia. It is widely known that the government practiced forced sterilisation of Romani women and the segregation of the Romani into walled-off settlements; these forms of discrimination have filtered down to the police force. Excessive use of force against the Romani minority by police has been publicly criticised by the United Nations. The police force has been repeatedly condemned by several organisations for lengthy pre-trial detention and its treatment of suspects in custody. In 2001, a 51-year-old Romani man died as a result of abuse in police custody at the hands of the Mayor of Magnezitovce and his son who works as a police officer. The victim, Karol Sendrei, was allegedly chained to a radiator and fatally beaten after being forcefully removed from his home. While the mayor's son was immediately removed from the police force and the mayor was suspended from his position, the latter was reinstated four months later. In response to this incident, the Minister for Internal Affairs attempted to establish new measures to prevent police brutality by including mandatory psychological testing for law enforcement and better training around the effective use of coercion. However, police brutality toward the Roma minority remains a serious issue. Video footage shot by law enforcement officers in 2009 shows 6 Romani boys aged between 6-16 being forced to strip naked, kiss, and slap each other. It is alleged that the boys were then set upon by
police dogs, with at least two sustaining serious injuries. Officers attempted to justify their behaviour because the boys were suspected of theft against an elderly citizen; however,
cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment by police, regardless of whether a crime has been suspected or committed, is prohibited under international law. The 10 law enforcement officers involved have since been acquitted after the judge ruled the video inadmissible in court as it was obtained illegally. As the footage was the main piece of evidentiary support for the crime, without it a conviction could not be passed down. Human rights watchdog organisations have raised concerns around police selectivity in making recordings of raids after a raid in the settlement of Vrbica in 2015; the police claimed to have not thought the settlement would be problematic; this raid involved 15 men being seriously injured. It is often the experience of the Roma in regards to pressing charges for police brutality, a counter charge is often threatened by law enforcement in an attempt to pressure the alleged victim into dropping the charges. It is generally an effective move as the hostile attitude toward the Roma in Slovakia is so entrenched that lawyers are often reluctant to represent Romani victims.
Slovenia Minority groups in Slovenia, particularly the Roma and any residents from the former Yugoslav Republic face discrimination and sometimes brutality by Slovenian police. The Roma are major targets because of their being stereotyped as an inherently criminal population. They often live in illegal settlements in very low socio-economic conditions, which contributes to their discrimination and their reputation as criminals. This made them particularly vulnerable to police brutality. Their rights have not been fully restored yet. The worst case of police brutality was the November 2012 protests; political dissatisfaction spurred a series of protests in Maribor, Slovenia. For the most part, the protests were peaceful; the crowds chanted and behaved non-violently for about two hours on 26 November 2012 (also known as, "the second Maribor uprising"). Police used excessive force to disperse the crowds, including tear gas, dragging and beating protesters, police dogs, and mounted police who indiscriminately charged into the crowd. This level of violence was unprecedented and entirely unexpected in Slovenia. Since 2003, Slovenian authorities have attempted to rectify this discrimination by introducing a two-day training programme on policing in a multi-ethnic community. The programme involved teaching the police about Roma culture and their language which helped to break down some of the stereotypes that caused tension. In
post-Francoist Spain (1975–present), two notable demonstrations were the ones that occurred in Barcelona on 27 May 2011, and in Madrid on 25 September 2012. Video footage published online showed the use of force by police against peaceful demonstrators on both occasions. Images show officers using handheld batons to repeatedly hit peaceful demonstrators (some of them in the face and neck), rubber bullets, pepper spray, and the injuries caused. Despite public outrage, the Spanish government did not make any attempt to reform policing and police mistreatment of the public; the opposite happened instead: in July 2016, new reforms to the law on Public Security and the Criminal Code were enforced which limited the right to freedom of assembly and gave police officers the broad discretion to fine people who show a "lack of respect" towards them. Amnesty International identifies three main areas of concern about police action during demonstrations and assemblies: excessive use of force and inappropriate use of riot equipment, excessive use of force when arresting demonstrators, and poor treatment of detainees in police custody. ACODI documented 612 cases of racial discrimination in a single year, emphasising that many of these did not lead to official complaints because victims feared police retaliation or believed their complaints would be ignored. Under Spanish law, the police have the right to check the identity of anyone in a public space when there is a security concern. However, African and Latin American immigrants are most frequently targeted, often without a legitimate security concern. "People who do not 'look Spanish' can be stopped by police as often as four times a day," said Izza Leghtas, an Amnesty International researcher.
Examples In 2013 police shot a man in his home in front of his wife in the town of Husby, a suburb of Stockholm. The police alleged the man had been wielding a machete and threatening them with it. The Stockholm riots were set off after the Husby shooting, where more than 100 cars were torched. When the police showed up they had stones thrown at them. People said the police called them "monkeys" and used batons against them in the clash. In another incident in 2013, an African-born Swede was refused entry into a local club in
Malmö for wearing traditional African clothes. The police picked him up and in the process of his arrest broke his arm and locked him in a cell for nearly six hours with no medical aid. Socially excluded groups have been targeted and the result of police investigations often means the police officers are not deemed to be at fault. According to Grobgeld, the common denominator for people on a special police list is being or being married to a
Romani person. A register of 4029 Romani people is kept by police. The police say the document is a register of criminals and their associates and is used to fight crime in
Skåne County despite people being on it that have no connection with Skåne or any association with criminal people. In August 2018, the Swedish police fired 25 shots and killed a man named
Eric Torell who had
Down Syndrome and was holding a
toy gun.
Switzerland • 1999, Zurich: Khaled Abuzarifa died of suffocation after being bound and gagged by his police escort at the Zurich airport. • October 2017, Lausanne: Lamin Fatty was mistaken for another person with the same name and detained. He was found dead in his jail cell the following day. • February 2018, Lausanne: Mike Ben Peter was held to the ground by police for six minutes. He then collapsed and died of cardiac arrest twelve hours later. There were reports that he was repeatedly kicked by the police in his genital area, and an autopsy confirmed severe bruising in this region. The police officers involved were not suspended, but have been charged with negligent homicide in an ongoing case. • May 2001, Valais: Samson Chukwu died of suffocation as a police officer put his weight on the back of a face-down Chukwu. Authorities originally claimed he died of a heart attack, but an autopsy later showed that postural asphyxiation led to Chukwu's death. • 2001, Bern: Cemal Gomec was attacked by police officers with batons to the head, irritant gas, a shock grenade, rubber bullets. A sedative is said to have led to cardiac arrest which led to his death a few days later.
United Kingdom In 2015 the
United Kingdom employed approximately 126,818 police officers in the 43 police forces of England, Wales and the
British Transport Police, the lowest number since March 2002.
Legislation and treaties The 1967 Criminal Law Act, the 2008 Common Law and the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, the 1984 Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) set out the law and acceptable use of force in the UK. The use of unnecessary physical force is in principle an infringement of ECHR Article 3. The use of force should be "reasonable" in the circumstances. Physical force is considered appropriate if: • it is absolutely necessary for a purpose permitted by law, and • the amount of force used is reasonable and proportionate This requires a consideration of the degree of force used. Any excessive use of force by a police officer is unlawful and an officer could be prosecuted under criminal law.
Findings and statistics Since 2004/05, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) published complaint statistics reports for England and Wales. In the 2014/15 annual report, the IPCC reported that there were 17 deaths in or following police custody and only one fatal police shooting from 2014 to 2017. These figures more than doubled when the IPCC was first erected. The annual report for 2015/16 was published on 26 July 2016. A total of 37,105 complaints were recorded in 2014/15, marking a 6% increase to the previous year, and a 62% overall increase since 2004/05. Allegations of "neglect or failure in duty" accounted for 34% of all allegations recorded while "other assault" and "oppressive conduct" or harassment made up only 8% and 6% respectively. Despite calls by the IPCC to suspend the officers, Bedfordshire chief constable Colette Paul refused to place the six police officers on restricted duties despite being under criminal investigation. The Bedfordshire police denied allegations that the use of excessive force on Cole was race-related. On 20 February 2014,
Bedfordshire Police Constables Christopher Thomas and Christopher Pitts, chased Faruk Ali before allegedly knocking him over and punching him in the face outside his family home. Ali was described as an autistic man who had the mental age of a five-year-old. The police officers, who were accused of laughing throughout the ordeal, were cleared of misconduct in public office by the
Aylesbury Crown Court. Following an investigation by the IPCC, the officers were fired following breaches of standards of professional conduct including standards of honesty, integrity, authority, equality, and diversity. Video evidence surfaced showing Mohammed surrounded by officers and paramedics, seemingly fully unconscious while being placed face down with his hands handcuffed behind his back. Questions remain about how appropriate medical condition could have been administered given how the handcuffs would restrict breathing. Mohammed is the 21st black person to die in police custody in six years. == North America ==