Significant Increase of Attacks on Police

Swedish police have been attacked in 14 so-called ‘no-go zones’ with knives and hand grenades, and are bracing for more violence this summer.

A new report from researchers and police in Sweden has revealed a huge increase of crimes and assaults carried out on paramedics, fire-fighters and police.

Certain neighbourhoods and towns, often known for high migrant populations, have been designated as unsafe for emergency crews to respond to fires or medical emergencies without an armed police escort. In some areas emergency service workers have been attacked with knives, have had projectiles thrown at them, including rocks, and in at least one case, a hand grenade reports Expressen.

Emergency service workers have been targets for attacks in Sweden for years but many fear that the attacks are becoming more frequent and potentially more deadly.

On Tuesday last week a female police officer was stabbed by residents in Boras while she was responding to a complaint that young men were setting off fireworks and starting fires in the area. During the event one police car was damaged and several officers were attacked, by what the Swedish media refer to as “youths”.

Firefighters have had stones thrown at them in neighbourhoods in Linkoping, and on Monday night seven cars were set on fire in Norrkoping.  Norrkoping police officer Ronnie Dahlqvist told Swedish media: “We have tried to take preventive measures, but as soon as we leave the area they continue. You feel a bit helpless sometimes”.

Officer Dahlqvist explained that the police were afraid that if they crack down on the young men the situation would escalate, such as during the 2013 Stockholm riots.

Following these attacks police now have to secure an area before fire fighters or paramedics can enter.

Of the 14 no-go zones, or “troublesome areas”, listed in the report some have already made headlines such as Husby where recently a Norwegian camera crew were attacked while filming a noted Swedish economist.  In another, Rinkeby, an Australian TV crew were attacked by migrant youths and run over with a car. Only days ago a police officer was almost assaulted while giving a TV interview by a man on a moped who sped toward him in a Stockholm suburb.

Deputy local police chief in Botkyrka, south of Stockholm, Patrik Sverin described the worst incident of violence that occurred in August last year when a hand grenade was thrown at a police van saying the incident made many officers want to leave the force.

“Most officers were affected after the grenade hit; we did what we could to get all of our staff to go out and do the same job again,” he said.  When the case came to court all of the defendants in the case were acquitted, though there is an ongoing appeal.

Biljana Flyberg, a female police officer, confirmed that attacks on officers  are a common occurrence. She stated that the migrant youths deliberately attack them: “They lead us into the field, trying to get us to hunt them. Then we are led to an area where there are groups of stone-throwers.”

Ms. Flyberg now turns her attention toward the summer and is fearful of what is to come, saying: “When it’s sunny, more people assemble outside so it is likely that there will be more riots. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have this lump in my stomach. I think it can be a difficult situation for those working in the summer.”

While the media in Sweden refuse to discuss migrant gangs, the former police superintendent in the town of Malmo, Torsten Elofsson, did not hold back when he told Breitbart London: “Of the number of people arrested and dragged into police stations, the majority are of foreign origin to be honest. There is an over-representation of violent crimes committed by people from other countries.”