Catalan police officer investigated for sedition

THE Spanish national court announced Wednesday that Catalan regional police chief Josep Lluís Trapero is being investigated for sedition, and summoned him to court on Friday.

The charges were announced after prosecutors filed a complaint against the Catalan police, or “Mossos d’Esquadra,” for their role during police raids on September 20 when police arrested 14 Catalan officials and confiscated election material — actions meant to prevent the October 1 independence referendum from taking place.

A police officer from a Barcelona neighborhood and the leaders of two pro-independence grassroots organizations are also being investigated, and were asked to join Trapero at Friday’s hearing. If convicted, Trapero and the others could potentially face up to 15 years in jail for “preventing … the application of laws.” 
Spain’s Constitutional Court deemed the referendum illegal, and had ordered the Catalan police to prevent it from taking place.
The Catalan police was widely criticized by the anti-secession Spanish press for not doing enough on the day of the referendum. Videos of clashes between Catalan police and the Civil Guard, a Spanish law enforcement agency, circulated on social media.
Trapero gained international media attention as the policeman in charge of the response to the terrorist attacks in Catalonia in August.