Austrian police given small gifts after protecting Russian Embassy, told to reject them in future

BERLIN (AP) — Vienna police say Austrian police officers who provided security around the Russian Embassy on the day of that country’s presidential election were given small presents as they left. Police were told to reject such gifts in the future. The gifts from the Russians were in paper bags that contained low-value items such as calendars and boxes of chocolates. The Vienna police department said Tuesday that accepting such gifts didn’t constitute misconduct under the service law for Austrian civil servants. But it said it “leaves an unwanted impression that does not do justice to the professional approach of the officers at the scene.”