After the death of a mentally ill man during a police operation on Mannheim’s market square, the public prosecutor’s office brought charges against two police officers.
The public prosecutor’s office in Mannheim has filed charges against a police commissioner for bodily harm in office resulting in death. A police chief of the police headquarters in Mannheim has to answer for negligent homicide by omission.
Sufficient suspicion after police operation in Mannheim
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the investigations have resulted in sufficient suspicion. There is no date for the hearing yet. The presumption of innocence applies.
During the police operation on May 2, 2022, a 47-year-old man collapsed and later died in hospital. A video circulated online showing an officer hitting the man lying on the ground in the head.
Pepper spray and blows to the head
According to the public prosecutor, the 47-year-old man had left the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim. The doctor treating him asked the two accused police officers to bring the man back to the ZI because he was in acute danger to himself. According to the public prosecutor, the 47-year-old continued towards the market square. When he turned to the two officers, the accused police commissioner sprayed pepper spray in his face.
Fixation by police officers led to a lack of oxygen
At the marketplace, the two police officers then brought the man to the ground. He had previously defended himself against being detained with two punches. One of the officers tried to handcuff the man. But the 47-year-old fought back. The police commissioner then gave him two punches in quick succession to the head. When the man continued to resist, the officer reportedly hit his head twice again.
As a result, the 47-year-old got a nosebleed and remained handcuffed on his stomach for several minutes.
“The 47-year-old suffered from a lack of oxygen, in particular due to the long and unfavorable fixation on his stomach and a blockage of the upper respiratory tract by inhaled blood.”
The man lost consciousness. He died in hospital despite resuscitation measures.
Public prosecutor’s office in Mannheim: beatings are not justified
According to the results of the investigation, neither the use of the pepper spray nor the four hits were justified under police law or other regulations, according to the public prosecutor.
The fixation on the stomach and the nosebleed after the punches were at least partly responsible for the death of the 47-year-old. Therefore, the police commissioner is accused of physical injury in office resulting in death and – for the use of pepper spray – an attempted dangerous bodily harm in office.
Second policeman did not intervene
According to the public prosecutor’s office, there is no evidence that the second officer was involved in the use of the pepper spray or the punches or used unjustified violence himself. He is therefore accused of negligent homicide by omission. After the fixation, he failed to ensure that the 47-year-old was positioned differently. The man would then have been able to breathe more freely. According to the current assessments of forensic medicine, his death could have been avoided “with a probability bordering on certainty,” according to the Mannheim public prosecutor.
The Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office is conducting the investigation. Numerous witnesses had sent videos, pictures and information to an information portal of the LKA. According to the public prosecutor, the process was reconstructed from a total of 120 video sequences showing the event.