“The killing of Eric Torell”
“First christmas without Eric Torell”
“the Investigation of polisskjutningen linger”
“What happened during the Eric Torells last minutes of life?”
“All the mother Katarina Söderberg want is to get clarity.”
“At christmas, she leaves Stockholm in order to avoid the empty chair.”
“in August 2018. A sun-drenched parking at Hemköp in Skarpnäck. “
“Katarina Söderberg rising out of the priest’s car and see the thousands of people who come to share her grief. Over the sound of blaring motorcycles, she says:”
“– It feels like someone poured thousands of gallons of with love over me. “
“by December 2018, a couple of days before christmas. Catherine’s apartment with snökantad exterior corridor. “
“Four months have passed since Eric Torell dog in a courtyard in the Vasastan neighbourhood in Stockholm. To a young guy with Downs syndrome and a toy gun in hand had been shot to death by police was a world first.”
“the Mother’s words was on all the headlines in the newspapers and a family friend arranged a motorcykelkortege to the memory of Eric.”
” Everything was so bleak and I couldn’t understand how I would be able to go further in life. That was how I felt there and then, when the police came in the morning and told me that three police officers had been forced to shoot to death my son because of a ”threatening situation”.”
“Katarina Söderberg says that none of the police officers that came with a death notice regretting the sorrow. To this day, has no one heard of.”
“she has difficulties to understand.”
“– You must surely in retrospect be able to say that something went slightly awry, because the man shot dead a youth with Downs syndrome who was holding a toy gun? Regardless of blame, we have well the courts for, so you must still be able to say that the result obviously was wrong. It may not have been the intention that it would go like this.”
“the Support and the power to go further she got through to process their grief in public. And of course also with friends, family, and the priest Pär Friberg, the police linked to the family day one.”
“Katarina was getting lots of supportive letters and e-mails already in the first few days.”
“– When I got up there at the procession, I felt like I was not stupid in the head who thought that what happened was totally sick. Entirely foreign people, quite ordinary, wonderful people, felt and felt the same way. And every single person I looked at gave a smile. And I gave a smile back. Or, I tried, in any case. “
“– well It was what I meant when I said that it felt like someone poured thousands of gallons of with love over me. “
“Christmas is heavy for those who are missing someone.”
“Eric Torells parents live apart but have always celebrated christmas in the childhood home in Vasastan. This year it will be different.”
“– I, and his sister, Elsa goes to my brother in Gothenburg. We do not celebrate christmas here and to see Donna’s chair to stand up.”
“Eric Torell loved predictability. And what is more predictable than christmas?”
“– Christmas was one of the feasts of the lord which he överälskade, for he knew exactly what would happen. We ate lunch a little early, then we went sledding or ice skating in the Park. At five o’clock in three, he went to the couch when he knew it was Donald Duck. And when it was over, he was like a lighted candle and waited on the plot. ”Eric, please,” he said with sign language, and put himself on the cheek, ” says Katarina Söderberg.”
“In sensommarens media coverage taught many people to know the boy with autism and Downs syndrome who could only say mom. “
“As the first answer on the question who Eric was,” says Katarina Söderberg smile:”
” He was a sneak.”
“Because Eric couldn’t keep from opening all the doors at the same time he got his advent calendar on christmas eve. Eric was good at memory but cheated also by turn of the cards when he thought no one saw. And so they laughed together. It was a part of the game.”
” He loved to joke. At the same time, he was very kind and considerate. In school he was the first who brought miss if someone teamed. He was so full of empathy. “
“In the family spread Eric comfort, and warmth through their way of approaching the one who was sorry.”
“– He was like a magnet, he knew when you needed to be comforted. He just put his arm around a and understood. Eric asked no questions and demanded no answers. He had an ability to calm, for he was quiet in himself, ” says Catherine Soderberg.”
“An investigation is underway on suspected misconduct and involuntary manslaughter. “
“Not much has leaked from the investigation. The involved officers have vallats in the courtyard. There is also the two of the six stems in a tree has been cut down and been dealt with in the investigation.”
“Prosecutor Martin Tidén was the target of the investigation would be completed before christmas. But the 10 december, a press release from the Special office of the prosecutor, if the decision is delayed to the beginning of the next year if prosecution should be instituted or not.”
“The little that is known is the number of shots that were fired, in connection polisernas intervention on August 2. According to Aftonbladet’s information shot all three.”
“25 shots. The three met Eric. One was immediately killing.”
“– Ingångsvägen should have been in the back, said lawyer Tomas Nilsson, who received the information directly from the prosecutor.”
“For the family have in fact been hard to take in.”
” Had he had a real weapon and shot the back, then I had understood. But for us it is very difficult to imagine that it fired so many shots, and not content with any of those met with in the stomach. It is like our lawyer, Thomas said to us, that of these 25 shots are very many questions that require answers, ” says Katarina Söderberg.”
“But the family’s questions revolve not only around what happened on the site. Expressen has reported that one of the police officers had only been in service since June. The other had worked in eight months and the third, with a few years experience, worked part-time. “
” Why do you put together such a squad? wonder Katarina Söderberg.”
“And perhaps they should never been there from the beginning.”
“According to sources to Aftonbladet, the police had been alerted to it about a known assailant was on the Norrbackagatan during the summer to 2 August. The man was suspected of having placed an explosive device under a woman’s car, and had previously threatened to kill police officers.”
“But if it was him the police was looking for so had they not had to look far. “
“He was already in custody at the police station Kronoberg.”
“so far, most things suggest that the unfortunate chance that Eric Torell ran away from home the same night the police chased a notorious assailant of the address led to his death.”
“– Had the police had the right values they had perhaps acted in a different way, ” says Katarina Söderberg.”
“Katarina Söderberg family and the highest desire is that it shall be brought to prosecution. “
“But not for Katarina to see that the police officers who fired the shots be punished. She just want to have clarity.”
“– Punishment is completely uninteresting. I feel no hatred, no vindictiveness. But brought no prosecutions, so will be the whole of the investigation confidential, according to what I’ve heard. And I want to see a timeline, second by second. What was it that made you have a heavily armed criminal with a playing child? Then, it is of course very wrong and unfortunate that Eric was in this leksakspistolen. Of course, there is a part of our responsibility also.”
“Everyone who wanted to come was welcome to Eric Torells funeral of Gustav Vasa church.”
“Where told the priest it is heart – rending- that Eric loved the police. Katarina Söderberg has always admired police officers and felt great respect for their work.”
“How does it feel when you think about that Eric loved the police?”
“– Oddly enough, it feels pretty good. I’m thinking that he hopefully thought that they were playing with him, he played to the last. I don’t know how big pain he had, and that’s why I so much wish that there should be a prosecution. So we get to know what Eric was about during the last minutes of his life. But it still feels good that he probably did not understand that he should have been terrified, ” says Katarina Söderberg, the mother of Eric Torell.”
