Outrage at court ruling against traffic wardens

Although the court handed down a fine and a suspended sentence to a man convicted for assaulting a female traffic warden in the city, no damages were awarded as compensation for the verbal abuse the man unleashed during the attack.

“It’s simply part of their job description that they can make people indignant,” district court judge, Ann-Louise Roos, told news agency TT.

The statement has sparked outrage from the traffic wardens’ trade union and from crime prevention organizations.

Solveig Bellgran, a traffic warden in Stockholm said the ruling could be taken as a green light for further attacks.

“It’s awful, you get shivers down your spine. It’s as if now it’s a free for all for the general public to come up to me, spit in my face, hit me, or throttle me,” he said.