The Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested a three-year prison sentence for Ricardo Ferris, a National Police inspector who equated immigration and crime at a Vox event in Valencia in October 2022. Ferris, who was then the head of the Central Police Station in the city, gave a speech attributing almost all crimes to immigrants, messages that, according to the public prosecutor, were “aimed at spreading rejection, contempt, hostility, and animosity” towards migrants, and in which he also used “false data.” “We have not been working with national criminals for almost five years,” stated the police chief during the roundtable at the Vox event. He also claimed, “All the rapes being committed in Spain are being committed by people from abroad,” and added, “Gender violence, which is now so fashionable, is exactly the same.” In addition to the prison sentence, the public prosecutor is also requesting a fine of 1,800 euros and a six-year ban from holding public office for the inspector. Thirty organizations that work with migrants and defend their rights filed a complaint against him in 2022 for these statements.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office highlights in its indictment that the police officer made these controversial statements “knowing that the data was false.” According to the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community, the number of offenses committed in 2022 by Spanish nationals was 38,872, while people of other nationalities committed 19,766 offenses. In terms of crimes against freedom and sexual integrity, there were 86 committed by nationals and 40 by foreigners, according to the data provided by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The public prosecutor emphasizes the impact of the police officer’s words as the video went viral on the internet. The event on “immigration and citizenship” was held at the Ateneo Mercantil de Valencia and was organized by the Foundation for the Defense of the Spanish Nation (Denaes) and the Vox parliamentary group in the Valencian Courts. The prosecutor mentioned that the publication was removed, so the number of views of that video could not be estimated. However, up to 13,420 views of videos and audios discussing the inspector’s words have been counted on various platforms.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office believes that these events constitute a crime committed against the exercise of fundamental rights and public freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, as set out in article 510.1 of the Penal Code, which punishes anyone who fosters, promotes, or incites hatred against a person for racist reasons or who produces or facilitates material that also promotes hatred. After the video was disseminated, the Ministry of the Interior dismissed Ferris immediately and opened a confidential investigation, a prelude to a disciplinary proceeding, both for his words and for not seeking authorization from his superiors to speak at the political event as a police officer. Days after his dismissal, Ferris requested to be placed on administrative leave, a situation provided for police officers by which they leave active duty but continue to receive part of their earnings as civil servants (base salary, seniority, and a supplement). After moving to administrative leave, Ferris was no longer subject to the police disciplinary system and avoided being penalized.
Since his dismissal, this officer, who has received support from the police union Justicia Policial (Jupol, the largest among police officers and strongly opposed to the government), continued to make statements in various media outlets in which he reiterated his messages equating irregular immigration and crime. In these statements, he strongly criticized the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the PSOE, and the PP.
