Uster parliament moves to launch police affairs inquiry

Uster’s city parliament has voted to begin preparations for a Parliamentary Investigation Commission into the city police affair, SRF reported. The motion was approved 31 to 0, with four abstentions, at the parliament’s first meeting since the affair became public.

The motion, submitted by the SVP and EDU parliamentary group, was referred to the parliament’s executive committee. The committee now has six months to prepare a report and proposal on establishing the commission. Parliament will make the final decision at a later date.

The commission could investigate how the city police exceeded its budget by around 1.4 million Swiss francs. It would also examine why invoices totalling around 500,000 francs were allegedly split up. The SVP and EDU said this had bypassed existing financial powers.

The affair has occupied Uster for months. The alleged breaches of financial powers involved several hundred thousand francs and reportedly included spending on a four-wheel-drive vehicle, roadblocks, an app and nearly 250,000 francs worth of operational trousers.

The police commander responsible was dismissed in the spring after the city government withdrew its confidence in him. The city government and parliament filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons on suspicion of violating official secrecy and the duty of confidentiality. The complaint concerns people who allegedly passed confidential documents about the affair to the media.

Last week, the city government temporarily removed councillor Beatrice Caviezel of the GLP from political responsibility for the security portfolio involved. In at least one case, she allegedly approved a purchase by signing split invoices, even though it exceeded her authority. The city government also announced that it would commission an external investigation.