Case Dismissed

Love-Struck Former Police Officer Got Off with a Black Eye

The 48-year-old received no punishment.(Bild: Constantin Handl, Krone KREATIV)

A 48-year-old police officer had met a woman at an event in June 2025. On Monday, he appeared before the Linz Regional Court on charges of abuse of office for having searched for her a total of eight times in the Central Registry (ZMR). However, he did not receive a severe punishment.

June 2025, Bubble Days at the Linz Harbor. People partying everywhere, a lively atmosphere, and in between, police officers keeping a watchful eye on the guests and ensuring safety. For one of these officers, however, the day marked the beginning of a very unpleasant story. It all started innocently enough: The 48-year-old had set his sights on a 40-year-old woman who was attending the festival with a friend. They got closer, talked, exchanged numbers—and eventually, the inspector drove the two women home in the police car. 

Curious Police Officer Got Caught
The two stayed in touch from then on, talking on the phone and exchanging messages. But what she didn’t know was that he was curious. So curious, in fact, that he queried the Central Registry a total of eight times using her name and address. Because, according to his defense attorney Andreas Mauhart, the “dedicated and overzealous” police officer—who had put himself on duty while on vacation in Carinthia and had been reported by colleagues there—these illegal inquiries had also come to light, for which the long-serving officer had to answer on Wednesday for abuse of office. 

Diversion Finalized
However, it quickly became clear to the judge and the lay judges that the maximum sentence of five years was unlikely to be imposed, or that a sentence might even be waived altogether. And that is exactly what happened: The 48-year-old was granted diversion in exchange for a payment of 3,000 euros. The divorced man from Linz paid the amount immediately—the case was officially dismissed. 

“Quite uncanny”
The prosecutor was also convinced: “This is possible for two reasons—the defendant has left the police force, and his offense is not particularly serious, because he could likely have obtained the requested information from the witness as well,” said the prosecutor. The witnesses—the two festival-goers—were therefore not called to testify further. “I didn’t even know anything about it at first, but it was really creepy,” said the 40-year-old—nevertheless, both agreed to the diversion.