Fourteen people have filed a criminal complaint against the police over their use of pepper spray to break up an Extinction Rebellion climate protest in downtown Helsinki last Saturday.
Prosecutors are still deciding whether to launch a preliminary investigation into the matter, according to Heidi Savurinne, the regional prosecutor acting as the head of the investigation.
The complainants reported on the use of pepper spray to disperse participants in the demonstration. Some also said the police did not provide them with water to wash their eyes and face.
Story continues after audio.
Yle News' podcast All Points North spoke with an Extinction Rebellion protester who was pepper sprayed.
The police board announced on Thursday that they believed the police took the right action in the given situation.
"We did not find any illegal activity on the part of the police, the duties of the police have been performed within the prescribed powers. This will probably be assessed from many angles," Police Chief Tomi Vuori told Yle on Thursday.
The police board held that an appropriate means of force is based on a comprehensive assessment of the situation.
"For example, if mild methods such as advice, requests or orders have no impact, the least harmful but yet effective means of force may be applied to achieve the objective of the operation," Deputy National Police Commissioner Sanna Heikinheimo from the National Police Board said.
Earlier in the week, several complaints about the protest were also reported to the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
"The complaints did not indicate that the complainants had taken part in the demonstration. The complaints referred to information and images in the media," counsellor Juha Haapamäki said on Thursday.
