No Guns, No Police Violence–It’s The Swedish Way

It is no secret that European police utilizes different tactics than their North American colleagues. A recent incident on a New York City subway has brought this to the attention of Americans. Read on: Four Scandinavian police officers breaking up a fight on the subway has New Yorkers wondering if they should import new fuzz from Europe. Swedish cops break up Subway brawl and show up the NYPD Markus Åsberg, Erik Naslund, Samuel Kvarzell and Eric Jansberger were on their first day of a holiday in New York when they responded to a call for police help on the subway. “We thought maybe someone needed help,” 25-year-old Samuel told the New York Post. Are you injured?, a Swedish officer asks the victim. A video of the incident shows the four men calmly but decisively restraining a man after breaking up the fight.  The alleged assailant screams: “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” At which point the Swedish cops advise him to calm down, give him a reassuring pat on the back, and ask if he’s injured. It's all in stark contrast to the many videos of police brutality we've seen emerging form the U.S. over the past few months.  But back home in Sweden, their heroics have not been hailed with the same fervour. Samuel’s boss refused to take calls from the New York Post, but a police officer explained to them: “In Sweden, if you see something bad, you just do something to help . . . It’s ordinary, what they did.”