挪威法院：警犬也是“公務員”

挪威法院：警犬也是“公務員”
Police dogs are civil servants, Norwegian supreme court rules

ing-bottom: 67.42%;">

Police dogs should be considered civil servants and any acts of violence against them therefore merits the same punishment as attacks on human police officers, Norway's Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Police dogs should be considered civil servants and any acts of violence against them therefore merits the same punishment as attacks on human police officers, Norway's Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

"The police officer and dog work ... as a single unit and ... an attack on the dog must be viewed in the same manner as an attack on the officer," the court said in its ruling.

The case dates back to May 19, 2007, when a man breaking into a house in the western town of Bergen was chased down by police dog Vera. Once he was on the ground and was being placed in handcuffs, he struck the German Shepherd.

The man was found guilty of attempted burglary, but was freed in two lower courts on charges that he had attacked a civil servant. Those verdicts were overturned by Thursday's ruling.

"Resorting to violence against a police dog being used to assist in an official operation in the line of duty, and who is under the immediate control of the officer, clearly falls under the article" 127 of the Norwegian penal code protecting civil servants, the court said.

The defendant thereby risks up to three years behind bars.

The Supreme Court did not hand down a sentence, but ordered the Appeals Court to re-examine the case.

挪威最高法院於本週四裁定，警犬應享受與國家公務員同等的待遇，任何“暴力襲犬”行爲應受到與“襲警”同等的處罰。

法院的判決書稱：“警察與警犬是一個執行任務小組，所以襲犬行爲應與襲警行爲同等視之。”

這一案件源於去年5月19日發生在挪威西部卑爾根市的一起入室搶劫案。在當天的追捕過程中，犯罪嫌疑人被警犬維拉追到並撲倒在地，當這名男子戴着手銬俯臥在地時，他趁機襲擊了這隻德國牧羊犬。

此前經兩家低級法院裁決，這名男子入室盜竊罪名成立，但襲擊公務員的指控不成立。但這一裁決於本週四被最高法院推翻。

挪威最高法院稱，“暴力襲擊正在協助警察執行公務的警犬顯然觸犯了挪威公務員人身保護刑事處罰條例第127條。”

這名罪犯可能要被判入獄三年。

但最高法院沒有宣佈判決，而是責令上訴庭複議此案。