Århus: Turkish police cadet attacked

Officials in the city of Århus fear that the bomb that destroyed a young cadet's car on Wednesday has also demolished attempts to give the police a better image amongst minorities.

The bomb was detonated under the car owned by the cadet known as Mudi to viewers of the television programme 'Police Academy', a reality show that follows police cadets, as he visited his parents in the Gellerup council estates.

No one was injured in the blast, but Mudi, 22, who has Turkish roots, was seen as a positive roll model for young men from minority groups. And officials are concerned are about the effects it will have on their efforts to recruit more minorities into law enforcement.

'Threatening a police officer or a judge or any other sort of public official is serious enough. But this crime has the extra dimension that it was carried out against someone who is trying to improve the lot of immigrants,' chief inspector John Jakobsen of the East Jutland police district said.

Mudi and another cadet from Gellerup have reportedly been harassed on several occasions because of their interest in becoming police officers.

Lene Espersen, the attorney general, called the repeated confrontations a 'sad' sign.

'Conflict between the police and young minorities flares up because they feel as if it is 'us' and 'them',' she said. 'We had hoped that police with the same background as them would have an easier time getting through.'

Source: Copenhagen Post (English)

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