crime
Homeless man dies from police bullet
There was a tragic police operation near the Reinoldi Church. photo
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
A police operation in downtown Dortmund ends tragically: a man with no fixed address dies after an officer shoots him. How could this happen?
A 52-year-old is involved in a police operation in downtown Dortmund Homeless man dies after being shot by an emergency officer. According to initial witness statements and review of body camera recordings, he is said to have been armed with an approximately 2.5 meter long iron bar from the scaffolding.
Before the emergency services arrived, he used it to hit another homeless person, the Recklinghausen police headquarters reported. After the officers showed up, he hit the door of the Reinoldi Church several times with the iron bar.
“He did not comply with repeated requests from police officers to put the iron bar away,” the police report states. “For this reason, police officers used a Taser on several occasions.” However, after the stun gun had “hardly any effect,” a police officer finally fired a shot from his service weapon.
The 52-year-old died from his serious injuries in hospital. An autopsy is planned. The investigations by the Recklinghausen police headquarters are ongoing. Witnesses should come forward there. A link through which witness videos can be uploaded will also be activated, the police said: “We ask that videos showing the operation not be shared on social media.”