After the Cobra scuffle

“Most police officers abide by the law”

"Most police officers stick to the rules!" - Markus Mitlöhner, judge of the disciplinary commission of the executive in Weyregg, explains what penalties officers face if they are guilty of misconduct. A police officer from Mondseeland is said to have scuffled with a Cobra man when he tried to arrest his son. 

"The majority of police officers abide by the law. We are responsible for Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg and deal with an average of 80 cases per year. But it's not just the executive, the judiciary and education are also involved," says Markus Mitlöhner, himself a police officer and the only full-time judge on the disciplinary commission in Weyregg.

A police officer (54) from Mondseeland will sooner or later make the acquaintance of Mitlöhner, as the executive officer is accused of scuffling with a Cobra colleague when the task force arrested the son (19) suspected of aggravated robbery - we reported.

No fixed list of penalties
Anyone who has to turn up as an officer in Weyregg should be prepared for anything. Unlike in criminal law, there is no fixed list of penalties for disciplinary offenses. In any case, the range of penalties is varied, ranging from a small fine to five months' gross salary. However, the maximum penalty is even more severe, namely dismissal. Such a loss of office threatens from a twelve-month conditional prison sentence or six months unconditional "port leave".

The young often don't give a damn about the job
However, the old hands are more afraid of this sanction than the youngsters, says lawyer Mitlöhner: "It is now common for young civil servants to avoid disciplinary proceedings by resigning altogether and looking for another job."