The Special Prosecutor's Office is investigating the police for work environment crimes after the Easter weekend riot where many police officers were injured.
Prosecutor Anders Hirsch announced this on Wednesday.
Of more than 300 incidents received, 186 have been classified as serious or very serious work environment incidents.
- We have never seen that extent before.
When we went through this, we thought it was important that someone outside made an assessment, says National Police Chief Anders Thornberg to SVT News.
Not enough information
Earlier in May, Ekot and TV4 reported that the police had certain intelligence information that there could be violence in connection with protests against right-wing extremist politician Rasmus Paludan's demonstrations in Sweden.
The report came seven weeks before the violent Easter weekend and warned that people from "criminal circles" could show up.
"In such a situation, there is a risk of use of force, then in the form of throwing stones at blue light personnel, and / or fires (cars, debris and tires)"
, the police's national intelligence unit distorted in the report.
"A failure"
The National Police Chief's statement after the Easter weekend that the police did not have sufficient intelligence information has therefore been the subject of discussion and Thornberg has in subsequent interviews clarified what he meant.
- There were notifications that there could be disturbances and occasional violent incidents.
At the same time, it did not describe the reckless violence, that we would be met by deadly violence and stone in so many places in Sweden.
The police have not encountered this in modern times, I would like to say that this is more extensive than it was during the Gothenburg riots in 2001, says Thornberg.
Have you broken down in your intelligence work?
- It is a failure for society that there can be such an attack on the state and democracy.
It is a failure for the police that we could not have foreseen it.
We took into account what we knew, but obviously we did not have enough resources.
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This has happened during the Easter weekend when violent riots spread to several Swedish cities.
Photo: TT