– An arrogant royal behavior – NRK Buskerud – Local news, TV and radio

A police officer has been charged with violence and excessive use of force after an incident in the center of Kongsberg a year and a half ago, after hitting a man several times in the head at a petrol station.

The policeman was acquitted in the district court, and the case will now be tried in the Borgarting Court of Appeal.

When the appeal started on Monday morning, the defendant pleaded not guilty.

Think Simensen would make a mark

Wearing jeans and a grey-green shirt, the accused policeman sat in the witness box on Monday to explain what happened on an October night in 2022.

The policeman said that he met the main victim Kevin Simensen earlier in the evening. They were busy with another mission, when Simensen came over and wanted to say hello.

– It is not unusual for people who have previously encountered the police to say hello, to mark themselves out. When we got back in the car I called him a coke hood to my colleague. It was about how he behaved. An arrogant kingly demeanor.

Later, they see Simensen and his mates again, at the petrol station. A security guard is standing there talking to the police. This was the doorman who earlier in the evening had refused them entry to a nightclub. The guard says he then received death threats, which Simensen has denied.

The police describe the atmosphere at the Esso station as tense and aggressive.

– Simensen is the most aggressive, and I want to take him away, to calm him down and get him away, and to be able to talk to him, the defendant repeated in court.

– The blows had no effect

Simensen stood with his hands in his pockets, the defendant said they were taught that “invisible hands are dangerous hands”. The victim pulled away from the policeman’s grip, and I feared he would run away.

– If that had happened and I had run after him, I would have ended up alone without colleagues around me. I myself lost my balance and fell, when I was going to put him on the ground.

– There I was met by fierce opposition, and I felt I was about to lose. I feared getting hurt, and had to try to get control of the situation.

He thought through the means of force he had available, which were pepper spray and a baton.

– With a baton, I had to keep my distance, and I had taken too long to draw and use the pepper spray. I hit his head, as he was wearing a thick winter jacket. I hit his head to knock him out and make him surrender.

– I hit several times, but it had no effect. He continued to fight back. Crawled around trying to get an opportunity.

The defendant said that he hit several times, but that it had no effect. Simensen continued to fight back, according to the defendant.

– We are trained to continue with our use of force, until we get the effect we want, which in this case was the opportunity to arrest.

Used a baton against the head

A colleague had arrived, but even with her assistance they were unable to gain control of Simensen. The defendant tried pepper spray at close range, but it did not help. He ran out of pepper spray.

– I ended up sitting on top of Simensen. He showed no signs of letting up. There was fierce resistance and we were about to lose control of him again. I tried a new stroke sequence, against the ear and nose. I pulled away to use the baton and then he was on his feet again.

– I hit him in the thigh, but it had no effect. He attacked me and I feared serious injury. I saw no other way out than to hit his head with a baton.

That didn’t help either, and only when even more colleagues arrived were they able to drag him to the ground. The defendant then discovered Kristian Teigen, a friend of Kevin Simensen.

– I feared he would interfere in the arrest. I hit him with a baton, after I had shouted and said I was going to hit him if he didn’t stay away.

The police eventually handcuffed Simensen.

– Law to use force

The Bureau of Police Affairs, led by prosecutor Marit Oliver Storeng, is handling the case for the prosecution.

Initially on Monday, both parties spent a lot of time talking about the police’s ability to use force.

– Unlike civilians, the police are allowed to use force, so the court must decide whether this was a legal use of force. The police must solve the task with the least intrusive means possible. Was it necessary, proportionate and justifiable? said prosecutor Storeng.

Storeng said that the police have a leeway to exercise force. The Supreme Court has also given the police leeway to make mistakes, without it leading to punishment, she said.

– They have both the right and duty to exercise power. Necessary force is ultimately to take up arms and take life, said defender John Christian Elden in his introduction.

When the defendant was acquitted by the Buskerud district court, the court emphasized that the policeman had limited opportunities to gain control over Simensen. Despite repeated blows and the use of pepper spray, Simensen did not surrender, according to the verdict.

The defendant was very scared and in danger. It was crucial to get control of Simensen, the judgment said.

Later on Monday, Kevin Simensen will explain himself.

An employee of NRK is a co-judge in this case. She has no role in the coverage of the case.