Police officer fined €6,000 for releasing wrong detainee
Monday 31st August 2026 on 06:00 in
Austria
A police officer who released the wrong detainee from the Linz Police Detention Centre has been fined €6,000, ORF reported. The disciplinary authority announced the decision only at the end of August.
The incident occurred in March 2025, when the officer released a detainee with the same first and last name as another man. He compared only the names and did not check the detainee’s date of birth.
The disciplinary proceedings also found that the officer had twice searched vehicle registration numbers in the official system without a work-related reason. During the hearing, he admitted the violations and said he still blamed himself for the mistaken release.
He said one of the registration searches had been carried out for his girlfriend after a traffic accident so that he could obtain insurance details.
The disciplinary commission found several breaches of official duties, some of them serious. In addition to the fine, the officer must pay €500 in procedural costs.