Costa Blanca

Constitutional Court condemns Torrevieja Council for harassing a police officer

After reporting irregularities that had occurred “systematically” within the force, a former Torrevieja Local Police officer was subjected to “constant harassment” from his superiors. The First Chamber of the Constitutional Court has upheld the award of nearly €100,000. The ruling, which was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official State Gazette)BOE)) on Friday, deems the “harassing conduct” experienced by officer Antonio RB, a career civil servant who held the status of protected victim of the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, to be “judicially proven.” It also emphasises that the Torrevieja City Council “actively participated, institutionally and within its scope of powers, in some of the harassment acts that have been judicially proven.”

The police officer’s claim for financial liability for workplace harassment was upheld by the Elche Administrative Litigation Court No. 1 in 2018. The initial judgement was overturned by the Second Section of the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJ-CV) after an appeal, which ruled out the existence of workplace harassment. The officer’s appeal against the TSJ-CV ruling was subsequently dismissed by the Administrative Litigation Division of the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court ultimately upheld the initial judgement, declaring it final, after the officer filed an appeal for constitutional protection.

The officer’s ordeal commenced in 2010, when the Torrevieja Local Police, which had been recently appointed under the Popular Party mayor Pedro Hernández Mateo, issued a warning regarding the lack of control over the cash collected in fines and the “systematic” inspections of specific entertainment venues. This was in contrast to the inaction in other establishments, despite unfavourable reports.

The incident was reported by him and two other police officers three years later, and an inspector and two officers were subsequently investigated. The complaint resulted in harassment, including the following: the removal of his weapon and documents from his gun rack and locker, the alteration of his schedules without prior notification and the assignment of new ones without the required rest period, and the denial of vacation time.

Manuel Antonio LV, one of the police commanders who co-defended the city council, published a “pamphlet” in which he referred to the officer as a “cephalopod” and a “slimy, disgusting animal” and disclosed private information on a notice board that was “visible to all personnel.” In the interim, the Alicante Traffic Department received a letter from the co-defendant Torrevieja Local Police Chief, Vicente GS, in which he suggested that the officer may have misplaced his driving licence.

He encountered a “rare atmosphere towards him” at his new post, the Alguazas Town Hall in the Region of Murcia, in 2016. He discovered that his medical records had been sent from Torrevieja and “reported as problematic” after consulting with a colleague. ” Subsequently, he was relocated to Lorca, “where he is at ease.”

Vicente GS and Manuel Antonio LV, the latter has now retired, were previously deemed to be “instigators of workplace harassment” in two “very similar” proceedings. As a result, the Vega Baja council was required to provide compensation to two other officers in the amount of 71,950 euros.

The Torrevieja City Council was aware of, permitted, and condoned the “true and certain” workplace and psychological harassment that the inspector and the superintendent of the Local Police endured for several years. The ruling asserts that both officers were “instigators of other harassment” of Local Police officers on multiple occasions.

The trial judge underscored that the officer’s account was not refuted by any witnesses or expert reports provided by Torrevieja City Council. Conversely, the victim’s testimony concerning the infringement of her moral integrity, personal dignity, and fundamental rights was “conclusive.”

The “hostile environment” and “psychological violence”

The Constitutional Court maintains the initial ruling and emphasises that “the concept of workplace harassment can encompass situations or behaviours of various kinds, whether specific or repeated over time, but they all have in common (…) the degrading nature of working conditions or the hostility they entail, and which have the purpose or result of attacking or endangering the employee’s personal integrity.”

The court determines that the alleged constitutional violation is “clearly indicative,” indicating a “reasonable suspicion” that the police officer’s treatment was workplace harassment that “significantly harmed his physical and moral integrity.”

“He was deliberately and repeatedly humiliated with the intention of violating his dignity, resulting in a hostile and psychologically violent environment that not only prompted him to demand a change of workplace but was also exacerbated by the city council’s repeated refusal to grant him this, ultimately having a significant impact on his physical and mental health,” the ruling states.

The Constitutional Court also gives “special emphasis” to the fact that the Torrevieja City Council “not only consciously remained indifferent to the hostile conduct” towards the police officer, in a “repeatedly passive position” maintained “for years,” but also “actively participated, institutionally and within its scope of powers, in some of the acts of harassment that appear to have been judicially proven.”

Discover more from Costa Blanca Daily

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Related Topics:Alicante Community Council Court Documents Elche Environment Fines Harassment Health Licence Local Mayor Murcia Police Torrevieja Traffic Violence

Up Next

One left with severe injuries after crash on the A-70 in Elche

Don't Miss

Aurigny will operate flights between Alicante and Guernsey this summer

Click to comment

Costa Blanca

Alicante to Seville daily with new Ryanair schedule

During the summer of 2025, Ryanair will run daily flights between Alicante and Seville.

The company plans to connect the two cities on a daily basis from today, March 27th, until October 25th. This year, the connection is strengthened with a flight every weekday, in contrast to the 2024 summer season when the route ran six days a week (with double frequency on Sundays and no flights on Wednesdays). Additionally, Ryanair plans to launch eight weekly flights in April 2025, with the addition of a second daily frequency on Saturdays.

Reaching 125,581 passengers in 2024, the link with Seville, the capital of Andalusia and Spain’s fourth most populous city, saw stratospheric growth. Compared to 2023, when the route carried 58,361 people between the two cities, this number marked a 115% increase.

A potential increase of frequency on the Alicante-Elche and Seville route has not been ruled out, and Ryanair will soon release its 2025–2026 winter schedule. Given the ongoing increase in demand on this route, the Irish airline may be planning to improve connection, as it ran five weekly flights during the previous winter season.

Discover more from Costa Blanca Daily

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Costa Blanca

Benidorm could start fining illegal tourist properties by Easter

Since the formal transfer of authority is anticipated to take place next week, Benidorm may start immediately fining unlawful tourist accommodations as early as Easter. Marián Cano, the Regional Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce, and Tourism, made this announcement as an indication of the advancements made in working with local councils to keep an eye on the tourism industry’s underground economy. The city councils of Alicante, Castellón, Elche, Torrevieja, and Benicarló are among the other municipalities that have stated their intention to take on this responsibility. This progress has already been formalised in Valencia, where the transfer of powers has been completed and all the procedures are prepared for approval next week in Benidorm.

In her response to a parliamentary question, the Nuciera councillor discussed the issue in Les Corts and stressed that the new tourism inspection plan “is not a continuation of the previous one, but rather an improvement that introduces more effective measures, strengthens institutional collaboration, and better responds to the needs of the sector.” She stressed cooperation with local governments in this regard in order to provide “more effective inspections and a swift response to irregularities.”

Discover more from Costa Blanca Daily

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Costa Blanca

Twenty kilos of cocaine found in a van near Alicante, leading to ten arrests

After discovering a 20-kilogram cocaine hoard in Alicante concealed within an industrial machine being carried in a van, the National Police have disbanded a drug trafficking organisation that was active in the region. A firearm, over three kilogrammes of cocaine, almost 100 marijuana plants, and 50 bottles made with valves and chemicals used to make the powerful drug “BHO” (an acronym for “butane hash oil”), a concentrated cannabis oil that achieves 80% THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, were all seized as part of the operation, which also led to the arrest of ten individuals in Alicante, San Vicente, and Torrellano.

If sold by the gramme, the 20 kilogrammes of cocaine would have brought in €1.2 million, and if sold by the kilogramme, €610,000. The black market value of the 3.2 kg of hashish that was found at one of the residences is €22,054 per gramme.

The Alicante Judicial Police’s UDYCO (Underground Drug Enforcement Unit) Narcotics Unit has started looking into a Torrellano resident who might be involved in drug trafficking with his son, who resides at a different Alicante address.

In order to identify everyone in the gang, the agents conducted a number of surveillance operations. They discovered that the group travelled and transported the drugs to other provinces using a number of cars, some of which were rented.

To escape suspicion, the suspects also switched cars, but the National Police were still able to verify their suspicions. In one of the monitored residences, they found a steady stream of individuals, some with criminal histories and others who came and went quickly after purchasing their medication for their own use.

Police saw a man riding a motorbike quickly out of one of the homes during one of the surveillance missions. When he was stopped and searched, it was discovered that he had 2,500 euros in cash on him. The inmates shared a van with another suspect, which was used to transport electrical equipment that might be utilised in marijuana growth facilities and to transport drugs to other provinces.

The National Police stopped the vehicle in the Alicante neighbourhood of El Moralet in early March, resulting in the seizure of the 20 kilogrammes of cocaine. An industrial heel-polishing equipment contained the medicines. A revolver with ammunition and rifle cartridges, 40 grammes of cocaine that was ready for distribution, 73 hashish acorns, over three kilogrammes of hashish tablets, some speed, and 81 marijuana plants were among the items found during searches conducted at homes in Alicante, Torrellano, and San Vicente del Raspeig after this seizure.

Additionally, 50 bottles of chopped marijuana that had been prepared with entry holes so that this cannabis concentrate could be made using gas and 54 grammes of BHO were confiscated by the police. A potent medication containing up to 80% THC is produced by this procedure.

After appearing in court, three of the arrested were placed in jail, while the others were freed on bond. Six of the ten inmates already had criminal histories, and the father, who has been the subject of an investigation since the beginning, together with his son, is one of those involved.

Experts from the Alicante Provincial Scientific Police Brigade will examine the revolver that was found after one of the searches because it does not have a serial number.