Criminal law-related allegations against officials, for example at demonstrations or sporting events, are examined. Why investigations are increasing.
The State Criminal Police Office checks dozens of police operations in Bavaria every year – and the number is growing. “The number of investigations conducted by Department 13 in connection with demonstrations, sporting events and other events is in the mid double-digit range per year and tends to increase over several years,” said an LKA spokeswoman at the request of the German Press Agency. Department 13 is responsible for all criminal investigations carried out against employees of the Bavarian police if the crime was committed on duty.
Among other things, criminally relevant allegations against police officers, for example at demonstrations or sporting events, are examined. According to the LKA, examples are protest actions at the International Motor Show IAA, corona demos or football games. “The aim is to examine the specific facts objectively and neutrally in order to enable the judiciary to make an informed decision as to the legality of the police measures,” said the spokeswoman.
The prerequisite for the LKA to take up the investigation is a report. In addition, the police can also have a controversial operation checked by their colleagues at the State Criminal Police Office. This was the case most recently after a mission in Munich at a memorial event for the victims of the racist attack in Hanau. “It’s about the extent to which the intervention of the officers may constitute a criminal offense and is objectionable,” said the spokesman for the police headquarters, Andreas Franken.
In 2020, police officers shot people ten times
On Saturday last week, around 600 people attended the Munich Security Conference to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack two years ago. According to the police, officials were pressed against a site fence at a bottleneck and physically harassed while the demonstration marched through the city. The police then used batons and pepper spray. Later there was an argument on the subway. According to Lechner, a man who accompanied the demonstration as a paramedic, according to the leader of the meeting, Thomas Lechner, was injured. Greens and leftists in the Munich city council sharply criticized the operation and demanded a statement from the police chief.
In the case of a man killed by police shots on Friday night, the LKA determined, as is usual in such cases, whether the police use of the firearm was lawful, said the spokeswoman. The 47-year-old was shot dead in front of his house in Gunzenhausen (Weissenburg-Gunzenhausen district) after, according to the police, he had previously rioted and attacked firefighters and police officers with a knife. Pepper spray didn’t stop him – the officers then shot the man. He died in the hospital.
In 2020, according to the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, police officers shot at people ten times in action. One person was killed and six people injured. According to a ministry spokesman, there were also eleven warning shots, during which the officials deliberately only shot in the air. Figures for the past year should not be available until March.