Swedish Police Chief Anders Thornberg has decided to launch a special external investigation against Mats Loeving, head of the Stockholm police region and deputy police chief at the same time. Loeving’s alleged stalking and harassment of his former partner and subordinate Linda H. Staaf is under investigation.
An affair between two Swedish police chiefs, a man and a woman, reported by the media, as well as the suspicion of favoritism and harassment related to this relationship, will be the subject of a special investigation. The policemen were responsible for fighting gangs.
The case was revealed in early December by the newspaper Expressen, which wrote that Mats Loeving, head of the Stockholm police region and at the same time deputy chief of police, was reported for disturbing the peace, stalking and molesting his then-partner and subordinate Linda H. Staaf.
The crimes were expected to be committed between 2015 and 2021. In 2015, Loeving was head of NOA’s special police unit dealing with organized crime, and in the same year he hired Staaf as head of NOA’s intelligence service. The woman, despite not having much experience in the police, defeated 20 other candidates. According to the media, Loeving granted the woman a gun, although it did not meet the requirements.
Police in Sweden Illustrative photo Mikael Jansson / Shutterstock.com
Chief of Police Anders Thornberg, after the publication in “Expressen”, decided to commission a special external investigation, although knowing about the case beforehand, he decided not to take this step. Justice Minister Gunnar Stroemmer expressed concern that the case could undermine confidence in the police and ordered the investigation to be speeded up and reporting to the government on its progress. Applications are due by the end of February.
The woman is currently the partner of the head of the Swedish army
Loeving has been removed from his duties, and Staaf, who is about to join the Justice Ministry, will not take up a new position for the time being. The woman is currently the partner of the head of the Swedish army, Micael Byden. In an interview with SVT, Byden stated that his role was to “support the person he loves”.
Loeving and Staaf jointly appeared at press conferences on the fight against organized crime. Since 2015, since they worked together, the scale of violence has been increasing. In 2022, 62 people were killed in 378 shootings, the most in the history of police statistics, and 104 people were injured. The background of the scores is the fight of gangs for the proceeds of drug trafficking.
Main photo source: Mikael Jansson / Shutterstock.com