Two transport police officers have been suspended after a brutal intervention in which they dragged a screaming pregnant woman off a Stockholm metro train as onlookers, including her young daughter, watched in horror.
In eyewitness footage of the event, which has been shared widely on social media, the security guards wrestle the black woman off the train before pinning her face down against a bench. Her crying five-year-old child watched helplessly as her mother wailed; eventually one of the security personnel tries to comfort the child.
Warning: Some may find the following footage disturbing.
The woman reportedly did not have a valid train ticket and was issued a fine which she refused to pay. The argument with the ticket inspectors quickly escalated and the ticketless passenger was aggressively manhandled onto the platform where she later fell.
Two preliminary inquiries have been launched into the incident: one into the woman and one into the guards.
The woman, reportedly eight months pregnant, was taken to hospital for treatment immediately after the altercation. She was soon discharged and is resting at home, but plans to press criminal charges, according to anti-racism activist Lovette Jallow, who uploaded footage of the chaotic scene.
The police are currently investigating the woman for “violent resistance” but have not ruled out further investigations in the near future.
The incident has reignited debate in Sweden about racial profiling and heavy-handed policing and private security.
“Unfortunately, it is difficult to make reasonable judgments in these situations. It gets stressed. Evidently this was not handled correctly the whole way through,” Henrik Palmér, a spokesperson for Stockholm public transport company SL told SVT.
“There are many mobile phone videos that have been posted about this that suggest that the security guards were too forceful.”
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This story was originally published by RT
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