Kongsvinger police have started an internal investigation after a civilian police car drove off with an open tailgate – and lost two weapons magazines with sharp cartridges in the roadway.
It was all captured by the surveillance camera of the company Solør EDB at Rasta, approx. one kilometer southeast of Kongsvinger center.
– I think it is dull – in terms of handling, and dull that they do not discover it, says the company’s general manager Vidar Kindsbekken to Dagbladet.
Gjermund Thoresen, police station chief at Kongsvinger police station, confirms that the ammunition fell out of the police car as shown in the video.
– The police regret that this has happened. Of course, this will not happen – but it actually did, says Thoresen to Dagbladet.
Local newspaper Glåmdalen mentioned the case first.
Retrieves bag and weapon
The surveillance video shows a dark Mercedes station wagon driving and parking outside the store at 10 o’clock in the morning. According to Kindsbekken, who himself has leaked the video, the passenger is seen going out and retrieving a bag and a weapon from the luggage compartment.
Believes the police are breaking the law
Then, a few minutes later, according to the general manager, the same person takes another trip behind the car and retrieves a bag and a weapon. After a while, the car drives off – apparently without registering that the tailgate has not closed completely.
You see two small objects fall out and remain in the roadway. Then it takes 45 minutes, before a man picks them up and walks towards the store.
– We have no one sitting in the store and looking, and had no idea about what happened, until a person came in and showed us this. Then we checked the surveillance camera and saw that they fetched rifles and ammunition, Kindsbekken tells Dagbladet.
A quick number search revealed that the Mercedes belongs to the police.
Was at rehearsal
Chief of Police Gjermund Thoresen explains that the officials in question participated in an exercise in the Kongsvinger region where sharp weapons were used. He also states that the ammunition has now been recovered.
– The magazines were handed in shortly afterwards here in Kongsvinger, by what we assume is the same person who found it. We are very happy that we had a socially conscious citizen here who did everything right, and that we now have control of the ammunition, he says to Dagbladet.
Thoresen says he has not encountered any similar case during the four years he has been station manager. The incident is now being investigated.
– We have done internal investigations, and the crews have been called in for a conversation just around the topic, and to get clarity on how this could happen. We want to clarify the routines, he states.
– Does this have any personnel consequences for the officials involved?
– Now we are in a process. In the start-up phase, we will have a conversation to get clarity on the current events, Thoresen answers, and emphasizes:
– We’re humble about it. An error has occurred here, and we are taking the consequences.
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