Supreme Court accepts former policeman’s appeal over abuse, forgery

Lithuania’s Supreme Court has accepted the cassation appeal filed by the lawyer of former police officer Arvydas Andrulionis, who was convicted of abuse of office and document forgery, LRT reported.

The appeal seeks to overturn the appellate court’s judgment and either terminate the case or return it for a new hearing on appeal, Supreme Court representative Tautvilė Merkevičiūtė told BNS.

The defence also asked the court to suspend enforcement of the judgment, including payment of the 5,000-euro fine, until the cassation proceedings are completed. The request was rejected. The case will be heard orally, but no date has been set.

In early July, the appellate court upheld a prosecutor’s appeal and convicted two former police officers of inducing an intoxicated person to drive. The Vilnius Regional Court found former officers of the Vilnius County Police Response Board, Žilvinas Adomaitis and Andrulionis, guilty of abuse of office and document forgery and fined each 5,000 euros.

The court said the officers had induced the person to commit a criminal offence, thereby discrediting the reputation of public servants and diminishing the authority of the Lithuanian police. Prosecutors also argued that false information recorded in the officers’ official reports had significant legal consequences because it restricted the person’s rights and freedoms.

In January, the Vilnius City District Court acquitted both officers of abuse of office and exempted them from criminal liability for document forgery, terminating that part of the case.

According to the case file, in March 2024 the officers received a report about a car parked improperly in a shopping centre car park in Vilnius. Its windows were fogged and the driver inside was suspected of being intoxicated.

The officers found the car stationary with its engine switched off. Investigators determined that they provoked the driver into moving it to another location. After the driver started the car and began moving, Adomaitis and Andrulionis approached in a police vehicle, stopped it and established that the driver’s blood alcohol level exceeded 1.51 per mille.

The officers then opened a pretrial investigation into driving while intoxicated. Their reports allegedly falsely stated that the car had been reversing when they arrived at the scene.

After the driver was notified of the suspicions, restrictions were imposed on his rights and freedoms, including a written undertaking not to leave, suspension of his driving licence and a temporary restriction on his use of the car, which was taken to a vehicle storage facility.

Prosecutors said the circumstances established in the case showed that the officers understood their actions were unlawful and knowingly allowed harmful consequences to arise.