Stockholm police head found dead after report criticized him
A senior Swedish police officer has been found dead in his home, hours after the release of an internal report that found a conflict of interest regarding decisions he made about a former employee with whom he had a relationship
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A senior Swedish police officer has been found dead in his home, hours after the release of an internal report that found a conflict of interest regarding decisions he had made about a former employee with whom he had a relationship, police said.
Mats Löfving, the chief of police in the Stockholm region, was found dead in his home in the city of Norrkoping, police said. He was 61.
The cause of death was not immediately clear and police opened an investigation as a matter of standard procedure.
Löfving’s conduct was under review both by an internal audit and a criminal investigation, in a case that shook Sweden’s police leadership and made headlines across the Scandinavian nation.
The probes focused on his relationship with a female employee while he was the head of the police National Operations Department.
The internal investigation on Wednesday found there was a conflict of interest when Löfving made decisions regarding the employee's salary and position. The investigator said those decisions raised questions about Löfving's judgement as a manager and suggested that the police leadership consider terminating his employment.
Later Wednesday, police responding to a report of an injured person at Löfving's home found him dead inside.
“It is incredibly tragic," Sweden's chief of police Anders Thornberg said late Wednesday. “My thoughts go to Mats Löfving, his next of kin and work colleagues.”
Prosecutors later said they would drop the investigation into gross misconduct.