Sweden: Acting national police chief found dead in his home

Mats Löfving has recently been in trouble and was scrutinized for ties after an appointment. He was found dead in his home on Wednesday.

– It is with great sadness and trepidation that I receive the news that Acting National Police Chief and Regional Police Chief Mats Löfving has died. It is extremely tragic, says National Police Chief Anders Thornberg in a press release.

It was around 7 p.m. that the police were notified of an injured person. The injured person was Löfving, who was found dead in his home in Norrköping, according to the police. The next of kin have been notified, and an investigation case has been opened.

– My thoughts go out to Mats Löfving, his relatives and work colleagues. We will do everything we can to support them in this difficult time, says Thornberg.

The cause of death is not clear. Löfving was 61 years old.

Was investigated

Löfving has recently been in trouble after he is said to have single-handedly hired Linda Staaf as the country’s head of intelligence when he himself was deputy chief of police. He then began a relationship with her.

This happened in 2015 when Löfving was head of the police’s national operational department (NOA). The intelligence unit is under this department.

The Express writes that 21 others with extensive police experience applied for the position of head of intelligence, but that Staaf had no police experience.

Löfving had previously been under internal investigation for suspected connections. After Expressen’s disclosure, the Swedish special unit reopened the case.

The results of an internal investigation were published on Wednesday. The result was according to The evening paper that the appointment was correct, but that he must have been incompetent in other personnel matters related to Staaf.

“It was hard to hear,” Mats Löfving wrote about the conclusion in an email to Aftonbladet on Wednesday.

The investigation concerns several police reports on various offences, which, among other things, concern persecution and violation of privacy against Linda Staaf.