It was in October 2021 that the man shoplifted an ice cream in a grocery store and was stopped by two security guards.
They took him into a cleaning scrub and shortly thereafter the now accused security guard joined. He is one of Norrbotten's most famous guards and has trained others for over 20 years.
The film captured everything
In the scrub sat a surveillance camera that captured the entire incident. The film is the prosecution's strongest evidence – see parts of it in the clip.
"Deliberate strangulation and pressure on the neck is never something that fits within the framework of justifiable violence," writes a police educator who has seen the film.
Plaintiff: "Damn, I'm dying"
The victim has previous convictions for, among other things, theft, assault and violence against a public official.
He admits that he may have said something unpleasant to the guards, but that he was not aggressive.
"During the strangulation, I thought, 'Damn, I'm dying, now I'm sailing on,'" he says in interrogation.
Lost consciousness
The man also states that he lost consciousness.
"I had panic and death anxiety while he strangled me, got blood up in my mouth that just grew. I napped on and off, I thought I was dying.
The victim, who has asthma, received medical care after the incident. They found bruises, scrapes and bleeding in the eyes and eyelids. The findings indicate that they were caused by blood congestion when the guard put his knee over his neck/back.
Store manager unhappy
The store manager, who came to the scrub after the commotion, initially believed the guards' version – but changed his mind after seeing the film.
"I thought about what happened in the United States with George Floyd. I was actually fucking badly affected, says the manager in questioning.
The guard denies any wrongdoing and, through his private lawyer, has threatened to sue the Swedish Prosecution Authority.