Facts
On 17 April 1980, police officers X. and Y. arrested a woman, B., and a man, W., suspected of having committed damage to the facade of the British consulate general in Zurich. During the arrest, W. fled, but was caught by X. after a chase. While X. was bringing W. back to the police vehicle, B. insulted X. and his colleague with coarse words. X. reacted by hitting B. with the back of his hand.
On 7 July 1981, the single judge of the Zurich district court acquitted X. of the charges of abuse of authority and assault. However, the public prosecutor appealed this decision, and on 10 November 1981, the Zurich cantonal court of appeal convicted X. of abuse of authority and assault.
X. then filed a motion for annulment with the SCC, requesting the annulment of the appeal court's decision and his acquittal of the charge of abuse of authority.
Considerations
The SCC examined the question of whether police officer X. had committed an abuse of authority by hitting B. with the back of his hand. According to Article 312 of the Swiss Criminal Code, an abuse of authority is committed when an official uses their powers to procure an unlawful advantage or to cause harm to another person.
The SCC considered that abuse of authority only applies to decisions and measures taken by an official in the exercise of their duties, and not to acts committed outside of these duties. In this case, X. had hit B. in reaction to insults, and not to enforce a measure of…