Image: Antti Kolppo / Yle

Although investigators remained tight-lipped about the case of a driver shot by a police officer near Lahti on Sunday, Häme police Detective Chief Inspector Jari Kiiskinen told Yle that at after the man’s car had run off Highway 4 in Orimattila, the 32 year-old male driver had been engaged in a very violent attack on a 23 year-old female passenger. No other parties were involved in the incident.

"We will not comment on what kind of violence was involved," Kiiskinen said.

Police also declined to comment on whether or not the attack was a stabbing. The woman sustained severe injuries and is still receiving treatment in hospital.

Police interviewed her for the first time on Monday. They are investigating the case as aggravated traffic endangerment and attempted manslaughter.

When the incident occurred sometime after mid-day Sunday, a Helsinki motorcycle officer who happened to be on the scene intervened and shot the man. He later died from his injuries.

Biker cop from Helsinki police department

Appointed by the office of the State Prosecutor to investigate the shooting, District Prosecutor Jukka Haavisto said that his task is to determine whether or not the officer’s action was warranted. He said that a preliminary investigation will determine what kind of weapon the police officer used and how many times the deceased was shot.

Haavisto said that he was appointed to investigate the case by the Itä-Uusimaa prosecutor’s office because the policeman was an officer assigned to the Helsinki police department.

"We will look into the practices at the Helsinki police department, and we have a regional division that calls for the Itä-Uusimaa prosecutor’s office to investigate these kinds of matters, there’s nothing more to it than that," Haavisto said.

The prosecutor said that he will not comment on the police officer’s duty in the situation in which he found himself.

"I need to be more familiar with the matter and we will most likely provide more information in conjunction with the Häme police department," Haavisto stated.

He was similarly reticent about the weapon used in the shooting as well as whether or not there was any element of organised crime involved.

"At the moment I don’t know nor can I comment on the investigation otherwise. If it involved an official task then the standard issue weapon is the starting point in this case. But that is also a matter that I will have to find out."

"I have no knowledge of such a thing," Haavisto said in response to the question about the possibility of organised crime.

The prosecutor noted that investigators want to move fast with the case, as long as they can complete forensic investigations.

"This is the kind of case that we will try to take forward as quickly as possible," he concluded.

The prosecutor's probe will focus on the actions of the polcie officer while Häme police will investigate other aspects of the incident.