– Here there are several possibilities for the police actions to be affected by the penal code: To drive the fist hard in the chest, stick needles in the hand. It is degrading to tear down people’s trousers. The question is whether they obtained informed consent in advance, possibly there and then. Did the young people have the opportunity to oppose this?
Marius Dietrichson, leader of the Norwegian Bar Association’s defense group, tells Dagbladet. He is presented with the mention of a controversial police exercise November 2, where a group of 16-year-old high school students from Oslo participated in an exercise under the auspices of The Royal Police Escort.
“Children are not adults and can not be treated like this, which this exercise clearly illustrates.”
Marius Dietrichson, leader of the Norwegian Bar Association’s defense group
– Covered by the Constitution
Several of the young people have told Dagbladet that they were subjected to harsh and degrading treatment by the officers, and have stated that they were not asked for consent to the various actions. They experience the incident as traumatic, and have documented physical injuries.
Jon Wessel-Aas, a lawyer with human rights as a special field and leader of the Norwegian Bar Association, is crystal clear on the issue of criminality:
“Several of the acts described will, according to general criminal law rules in the Penal Code, Chapter 25 on violent crimes, be punishable if they are committed against someone without informed consent,” he told Dagbladet.
Young people shaken after police exercise
And:
– As this has happened under the auspices of the police and by police officers, the actions have been committed by the state. In that case, any lack of informed consent will also entail a violation of both the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), both of which protect against unauthorized interference with physical and mental integrity.
Investigated
Wessel-Aas further states that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is also relevant to the case, as the victims are minors. The lawyer elaborates on the division of responsibilities in the case:
– The state’s responsibility applies regardless of whether the individual police officer understood or should have understood that the children had not been given good enough information in advance, he says.
– THE STATE RESPONSIBLE: Since the exercise was under the auspices of the police, the actions were committed by the state, explains lawyer and human rights expert Jon Wessel-Aas. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
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The case is now being investigated by the Special Unit for Police Affairs. The royal police escort has laid down after the incident and warns of routine changes.
– Here we have not behaved as we should, says section leader Roy Hagen-Larsen.
– Could not give consent
The young people – a total of five girls and boys – have said that they experienced the exercise, where they were supposed to be so-called markers in the police medic training, which very uncomfortable.
– I was quite surprised and a bit in a state of shock after the exercise, says one 16-year-old.
Moves the police card to PST
They have also said that they were not informed in advance what would happen during the exercise, and thus could not give consent to or refuse, for example, hard-handed cardiopulmonary resuscitation or to be physically examined while lying partially undressed.
– There was never any room to say no. I would not have said yes if I knew this was what we were going to do, says one student.
“As this has happened under the auspices of the police and by police officers, the acts have been committed by the state.”
Jon Wessel-Aas, lawyer and human rights expert
The markers were to simulate that they had injuries, and were to be treated by the police officers. According to the young people, this meant that the officers performed a so-called pain test on them – where you push a fist into the chest of an unconscious person to see if the person responds.
– We all had chest pain several days after the exercise, says one participant.
– Breathing difficulties
One of the participants is said to have been subjected to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, with compressions and breaths. According to the 16-year-olds, it went hard.
– It was not so hard that she broke her ribs, but it was so hard that she afterwards had difficulty breathing, they claim.
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According to the school students, to take a full health check, the officers pulled up their sweaters and felt their bodies, in search of stab wounds. In addition, all five had their trousers taken off, so that they remained on the floor in only their underwear for half an hour.
– We were all taken down in the groin, down along the thighs and on the buttocks. Actually everywhere, says one of the students.
– Punctured blood vessel
The human markers were also inserted with venous needles (“intravenous needles”) in the elbow hook and hand. But this did not go well either, the young people claim.
– I got a needle in my hand. It was put wrong, so I got a punctured vein, says one of the 16-year-olds.
Believes the police are breaking the law
One of the girls had a so-called gunshot wound plaster affixed, a special type of plaster that fits extra well.
– When I took off the patch, I tore off both skin and hair. I got several small wounds, tears and bruises where the patch had been attached to the skin, she says.
Strong self-criticism
The young people have said that after the exercise they went to the emergency room to document the injuries they had suffered, and were followed up at school by a psychologist and conversations with a health nurse. Dagbladet has seen photos they themselves have taken of the injuries.
In retrospect, there has been a meeting between the management of the police, the principal, teachers, parents and the young people. The royal police escort has been reported to the Special Unit for Police Affairs by several of the young people and the school.
SORRY: The section leader for the Royal Police Escort, Roy Hagen-Larsen, strongly regrets that the school students had a negative experience during the exercise. Here at the Palace with Oslo Police Chief Beate Gangås. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
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The police have taken strong self-criticism for the implementation of the exercise. Roy Hagen-Larsen, section leader in the Royal Police Escort, has in an e-mail to Dagbladet stated that they will change their routines after the incident “so that this does not happen again”.
Admits information failure
Hagen-Larsen also acknowledges that they did not take sufficient account of the markers’ young age.
– More and better information and explanations should have been given in advance of the exercises, so that the markers as detailed as possible understood what was going to happen along the way. In addition, a clearer consent should have been obtained in advance, he writes, and adds:
– Obtaining consent along the way does not work for such a young group of markers.
We want to be visibly present
The police card leader further writes that it is very sad that the young people had a bad experience of the training.
– Must have a legal basis
Lawyer Dietrichson emphasizes that he is speaking on a general basis, but is still in no doubt:
– I have noted that the police have now apologized for the incident and notified routine changes. They do it wisely, he says and elaborates:
– I principle it is affected to drive a fist hard in the chest on some of the penal code’s provisions on bodily harm. The same applies to needles in the hand and pulling down someone’s trousers – unless you have a legal basis for exposing the person to it, the lawyer says and elaborates:
– MUST HAVE CONSENT: Since it was an exercise and not a real health situation, the police should have obtained consent to the actions in advance, lawyer Marius Dietrichson states. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
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– A doctor has, for example, a basis in his duty to provide assistance to inject. An ambulance worker or police officer has the same basis – the duty to provide assistance, he says.
The key concept is “informed consent”.
– One can clearly raise questions about whether the children in question were informed about the treatment they should receive. If not: Did they have the opportunity to oppose the treatment? asks Dietrichson.
Astonished
– You can put your fist in the chest if needed, in a real health situation. There is a basis for all this – but since this was not a real health situation, must one has informed consent, the lawyer says and continues:
– It is absolutely crucial that the person who is exposed to a violation agrees to this. And then it is asked if you can do it when uniformed personnel give you harsh treatment.
– Realize it can seem scary
He adds:
– But only the fact that the children are already reacting in this way indicates that it is entirely appropriate to give notice. Children are not adults and can not be treated like this, which this exercise clearly illustrates. It amazes me that the police have found themselves in such a situation that this must now be considered.
– Could the consent theoretically have been obtained in retrospect?
– It is allowed to push a fist in the chest as long as you have been allowed to do so – but it does not help to apologize afterwards.
Calls for humility
Jon Wessel-Aas notes that the police themselves admit to poor information to the markers prior to the exercise.
Revealed secret information about the king’s security by mistake
– I therefore assume that the Bureau assesses precisely whether there was real consent, he says.
Dietrichson explains that the defense group in the Norwegian Bar Association is concerned that the police in general must be more humble in dealing with children.
– I mean when they visit people on the street, or are in contact with children who are possible suspects, who are the subject of prosecution, and sometimes children as part of the public. They must have an understanding that children say things and behave differently, and have a different perception pattern than adults, he says.
– But that this should be a problem during a controlled exercise, under the supervision of a superior, I might not have imagined, the lawyer adds.
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