A police officer is on trial accused of stealing the mobile phone of a man who had died in the street.

A Catalan police officer could face up to two and a half years in prison for taking the mobile phone and headphones of a man who had died in the street in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. On the night of November 2, 2021, the accused was on duty and, along with his patrol partner, received a report of a dead person in the street. Both officers were members of the public health unit at the Mataró police station and responded to the call because there were suspicions that the victim might be a victim of a homicide. mule. According to the prosecution's indictment, the accused officer kept the iPhone 12 that the man had in his backpack before a colleague completed the chain of custody document listing the deceased's belongings. The colleague explained at the trial, held this Tuesday at the Barcelona Provincial Court, that he made the list of items after they were already at the Mataró police station, and that he didn't include the phone because he never saw it, but he did include the headphones, which were there. The officer is also accused of appropriating the man's AirPods. According to the prosecution, once his colleague had searched the victim's belongings, the accused had to write the police report, and at that moment he allegedly stole the AirPods, taking advantage of the fact that the victim had other white headphones in his backpack that were not listed in the inventory of the items in custody. The case began to be investigated following a complaint from the victim's widow, who noticed his iPhone and AirPods were missing when she collected her husband's belongings from the police station. Furthermore, the victim's children were able to turn on their father's iPad to search for the location of the iPhone and AirPods: the phone had been turned off at the Mataró police station shortly after the victim's death, and the headphones had been detected the day after his death, when the accused was already off duty and nearby. The head of the Mossos d'Esquadra's investigation unit in Santa Coloma de Gramenet explained during the trial that, precisely because of suspicions that the victim might have been involved in drug trafficking by concealing drugs inside his body, it was especially important to preserve the electronic devices he was carrying, as he could have used them to make contact. In addition to the iPhone and AirPods, the victim was also carrying an iPad with a keyboard and stylus, "all state-of-the-art and worth over €2,500," as described in court by the first police officer to arrive at the scene, a local police officer from Santa Coloma de Gramenet. His shift supervisor that afternoon, a sergeant from Santa Coloma, testified that all the victim's belongings were handed over to the accused officer and his partner to be taken to the station, but both deny this. In fact, the accused denies keeping the victim's phone or headphones and is requesting acquittal. He remains on active duty.

The officer remains on active duty, and at the time of the incident, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) did not apply any precautionary measures against him. Sources within the force add that, should he be convicted, a disciplinary file will be opened against him. The officer faces a conviction for misappropriation, and the Public Prosecutor's Office has also asked the court to disqualify him from working in the Catalan police force for the duration of his sentence. Neither the victim's iPhone nor AirPods have been recovered, and they are valued at 850 euros, which the prosecution is claiming as compensation for the victim's family. Should the accused fail to return them, the Department of the Interior, as the subsidiary civilly liable party, would be responsible for their return.