Appeal hearing:

Commander shot dead: Life sentence for police officer

The trial against the perpetrator in Leoben

(Bild: Pail Sepp, Krone KREATIV)

Because he didn't get what he wanted, a police officer shot his boss - the post commander of the Styrian police station in Trieben. In the first instance, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The appeal hearing has now taken place in Graz.

20 years in prison - that was the sentence handed down in February to the ex-policeman who killed the commander of the police station in Trieben with several shots in his office. Andreas F. was confronted by his boss with official misconduct that would now lead to consequences. When he denied the officer's question as to whether this could be handled differently, Andreas F. drew his Glock and pulled the trigger. Public prosecutor Andreas Riedler spoke of an "execution" at the first instance hearing in Leoben. 

The public prosecutor appealed against the verdict. The appeal hearing finally took place at Graz Higher Regional Court on Wednesday. The convicted man preferred to stay away from the trial, so the case was heard in absentia. The senior public prosecutor demanded a life sentence. The reasons: "The orderly way of life is to be strongly relativized due to years of cannabis consumption. As a police officer, he knew that this was not permitted, but accepted it," explained the senior public prosecutor. To explain: at the trial in Leoben, the defendant admitted to having regularly consumed cannabis.

"Cold-blooded act without remorse"
 But that was not all: it was clear to the senior public prosecutor that there was no sign of remorse on the part of the accused. It had only been a confession of fact and had not helped to establish the truth. Andreas F. had only come out with a confession under the massive burden of proof. In addition, his actions were extremely brutal: "He acted deliberately, leaving the seriously injured victim no chance. Even after the crime, he was unimpressed and emotionless, which indicates a corresponding cold-bloodedness." With his actions, he not only inflicted severe financial consequences on the family, but also caused damage of 318,000 euros to the Republic.

His defense lawyer naturally sees things differently: "The crime is of course a serious one, but the maximum sentence should not be imposed. He always confessed, was remorseful and helped to clear up the case. I can't sugarcoat it, what it weighs, it has," he contradicted the chief public prosecutor's comments. 

"The crime was cruel, agonizing and brutal"
 In the end, the panel of judges agreed with the senior public prosecutor. "Life imprisonment" is the final sentence for the man. "The crime was cruel, agonizing and brutal and carried out with the defendant's service weapon. He fired a total of four shots at his victim. The perpetrator took advantage of his victim's defenselessness and helplessness, which is also a special aggravating circumstance," the presiding judge explained. There was also no special reason for the crime. "We assume that the crime was intentional and had serious consequences. Anyone who shoots an unarmed victim four times and says they didn't mean to is not remorseful." However, the court did not consider cannabis use to be an aggravating factor.