Police Officer's Diversion Reversed Due to Misleading Report

A legal proceeding involving a police officer from Upper Austria, accused of deliberately submitting a misleading final report in a case of arson, has been ordered to be retried. Initially, the officer managed to secure a diversion at the Landesgericht Linz in early February. However, this decision has been successfully challenged by the public prosecutor's office, which argued that they had been misled by the officer's actions. The Linz Higher Regional Court has now mandated a fresh trial.

The case centers around an arson incident that occurred in February 2024 at a residential property in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung. An expert report indicated that a flammable liquid had been spilled and ignited on a sofa. The investigating officer is accused of intentionally withholding crucial documentation from the prosecution, leading to the initial suspension of the investigation against unknown perpetrators. The case was only reopened following a complaint from the victims.

Suspicion eventually fell on a fellow police officer, whom the accused only knew by hearsay. This individual was charged with arson but was acquitted due to reasonable doubt. The investigating officer faced charges of abuse of office. He expressed remorse, attributing his actions to a momentary lapse in judgment and personal failure. The court accepted his explanation, viewing it as an isolated incident, and allowed him to enter into a diversion agreement after he paid a fine of 2,700 euros.

In response, the public prosecutor filed a complaint, arguing that such an agreement undermines the integrity of criminal prosecution. The Linz Higher Regional Court upheld this complaint, resulting in the case being set for a new hearing. The police officer is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday, April 15, to face the charges of abuse of office once more. The potential penalty for this offense ranges from six months to five years of imprisonment.