At least five police officers have been fired in recent years due to inappropriate, racist messages discovered during a probe of a far-right network.WhatsApp messages sent by police officers described inhumane and sadistic ways of treating certain politicians and supporters of certain political groups, for instance (file photo). Image: Jorge Gonzalez / YleThe Helsinki Administrative Court has overturned the Helsinki Police Department’s decision to fire a police sergeant due to inappropriate WhatsApp messages.The court ruled that the dismissal was illegal on procedural grounds – because the department did not make a decision within a reasonable time after finding out about the messages and did not legally notify the officer before his hearing that it was considering his dismissal. The court did not take a stand on the content of the messages.The sergeant was fired last year when his superiors discovered that he and another policeman had been sending WhatsApp messages that insulted immigrants and others for more than two years. The department decided that the messages violated basic rights and human dignity and exhibited a reckless attitude towards them.The messages were found when the National Bureau of Investigation investigated a group whose members shared ties to the security industry and
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Court overturns police sergeant's dismissal over offensive WhatsApp messages – YLE
