Cologne
Eviction escalates: police shoot tenants
Employees of a funeral home remove the body of the tenant who was shot by the police in front of a high-rise building in Cologne
© Oliver Berg / DPA
The tenant died during an eviction in Cologne. A bailiff called the police. Eventually, the situation escalated to such an extent that officers shot the man.
The police shot a man during the eviction of an apartment in Cologne. The dead man was the 48-year-old tenant of the premises, as the police and public prosecutor announced after the operation on Wednesday morning in the Ostheim district. According to the current investigation status, he had previously attacked police officers with a knife. After an “unsuccessful use” of pepper spray and the threat of firearms, the shooting finally took place. The man was fatally injured.
The 48-year-old had apparently previously been considered dangerous by the authorities. According to the police and the prosecutor, he had previously made threats if there was an eviction. The bailiff responsible for the eviction then asked the police for help. It was initially unclear how many police officers were ultimately involved in the operation.
Public prosecutor in Cologne clarifies the circumstances of the tenant’s death
“It is also checked whether one or more officers shot the injured person,” said senior public prosecutor Ulrich Bremer of the German Press Agency. The public prosecutor’s office has started a death investigation to clarify the circumstances of the death. An autopsy of the body was also ordered. According to the situation, the threat was directed against the police officers, not against the bailiff.
According to the public prosecutor, the dead man was known to the police and the court. He was last charged in June 2022 at the Cologne District Court. “The indictment was based on the allegation that he had resisted police officers after the accused had announced his suicide and kicked the police officers who rushed to his aid,” reported chief public prosecutor Bremer.
Cologne police are investigating
On Wednesday afternoon, police cars and a hearse could be seen on the street where the apartment was located, which is located in an eastern part of Cologne with several high-rise buildings. For reasons of neutrality, the investigation into the case was carried out by the police in Bonn, not the Cologne police.