Palle Mogens Fogde Sørensen (26 March 1927 – 1 February 2018) was a Danish convicted murderer who, in 1965, shot and killed four police officers. The police officers where shot as they pulled him over while he was returning home from a burglary.

Early life

In 1949, shortly after his release from juvenile detention, Sørensen broke into the headquarters of Danish labor union ''Dansk Arbejdsmands Forbund'' (today, '' 3F''), where he blew open a safe with explosives stolen from a quarry and stole 130,000 kr., all of which he had spent shortly after. He later committed several burglaries and instances of insurance fraud, but was eventually caught and received a 5-year prison sentence. After his release from prison, Sørensen was hired to produce aerials for the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, and managed to bring his criminal lifestyle to a halt. However, in 1964, Sørensen encountered his former cellmate Norman Lee Bune, and resumed his former criminal activities of mainly

burglaries Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

. Sørensen was known for his engineer-like prowess with technology and mechanics, and a 1958 article from the tabloid ''

Ekstra Bladet is a Danish tabloid newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen.About
(in Danish) . Retrieved 22 Se ...

'' described Sørensen as a man with a skill for cracking safes. He had a gun collection in his mother's basement.

Shootings

On 17 September 1965 Sørensen and Bune were caught by the owner of a house they had broken into, who subsequently called the police. The men fled the scene and where pursued by police officers. During the chase, Sørensen was pulled over twice, each time reaching for his Browning P-35. In total four policemen where shot, all of whom died from the sustained injuries. The incident resulted in a major search operation, lasting for 48 hours, ending with Sørensen turning himself in, commenting " made the mistake of ylife."

Sentence

Sørensen was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

on 24 August 1966. Despite being a peaceful prisoner, he was considered the most dangerous convict in Denmark for many years, and police unions pressured the authorities to grant him neither parole nor pardon. He was granted parole after 32 years and eight months in prison – at the time the longest period anyone had served in a Danish prison in modern history.

Life after prison

Sørensen went to live in

Valby Valby () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, area ...

for the remainder of his life, confessing to a journalist he was still fascinated with safes. He died on 1 February 2018.

Legacy

Palle Sørensen's crime eventually led to the arming of Danish police officers. The four murdered officers were given State funerals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorensen, Palle 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Danish criminals Danish male criminals Danish mass murderers Danish people convicted of murdering police officers Danish prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of murder by Denmark People from Copenhagen People paroled from life sentence Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Denmark