Anyone who has ever looked for a parking space in downtown Munich knows that it can be expensive. If you can find a short-term parking space at all, you have to shell out ten cents for every three minutes. In the surrounding multi-storey car parks, four euros are sometimes charged for every hour started. And if you want to save the fees and leave your vehicle in the no-parking zone, you have to expect a ticket: At least 55 euros will then be due. In the worst case, parking in the city can cost you a few hundred euros, for example if the car is blocked for the fire brigade and towed away.
No wonder it was noticed recently when more than half a dozen mostly dark limousines were parked unmolested in the pedestrian zone right next to the Frauenkirche. In the late afternoon of January 19, from 5:30 p.m., a service was held for the Bavarian police, followed by a snack in the Karmelitersaal around the corner. Some of the executives who had traveled from the regional police headquarters had themselves chauffeured as close as possible to the church and Carmelite Hall – and their drivers waited there until they returned.
The police are not allowed to do that without good reason, and after the Evening News made the matter public, a spokesman for the Munich Presidium announced that the traffic violations recorded would be followed up: “Of course, this will be followed up internally by the police.”
Now the matter could also have legal repercussions, because, as the Munich I public prosecutor confirmed to the SZ, she received an anonymous criminal complaint. It is about usurpation of authority and evasion of punishment. The official assumption is directed against unknown persons and is aimed at the drivers of seven company cars, each with a number plate, because they had placed red police batons behind the windshield – as a visible sign that the police are on duty. This was documented with appropriate photos.
The accusation of evading punishment is particularly explosive, because it is directed against the drivers’ superiors – and they are identified as presidents or vice-presidents of regional associations. State police president Michael Schwald and the head of the Oberbayern Süd presidium, Manfred Hauser, are mentioned by name. According to the four-page letter available to the SZ, it is their duty to report the suspicion of criminal activity to the public prosecutor’s office, which was not done. Munich’s chief of police, Thomas Hampel, is also accused of obstructing criminal prosecution because he was responsible for the arrival and departure of those attending the service and also failed to report the alleged crimes.
The public prosecutor’s office said on Thursday that “the facts presented are now being examined”. Schwald and Hauser let it be known that they were only informed about the receipt of the complaint by the public prosecutor’s office and could not comment on the ongoing investigation. Hampel also asked for your understanding that “(to) not be able to comment on ongoing proceedings by the Munich I public prosecutor’s office”.
Only law enforcement officers on duty may use the red trowel
The person who reported the suspicion of criminal offenses is obviously well versed in administrative and civil service law, because the letter explicitly points out that presidents, vice presidents and their drivers are usually not law enforcement officers who perform sovereign tasks and as a result, should use the red disc so that they do not have to first look for a parking space in a current operation. Therefore, powers have been exceeded in any case, because attending the church service cannot be plausibly explained as an assignment. The cars were probably parked illegally, at least with the knowledge or approval of the presidents.
State police chief Schwald expressly pointed out in the invitation that there were no parking facilities at the Frauenkirche: “We therefore ask you to use public transport to get there.” External participants could use “a small number” of parking spaces in front of the Ministry of the Interior; From there, the Frauenkirche can be reached on foot in about ten minutes. Otherwise, Schwald advised parking the service vehicles with the riot police on Rosenheimer Strasse. The fact that Schwald himself did not follow his recommendation and left his car at the Ministry of the Interior, where he also has his office, is at least a political issue.
The Munich Presidium announced on Thursday that “the prosecution of the traffic offenses in question had been initiated”. From Rosenheim, the seat of the Presidium Oberbayern Süd, it was said that a warning or fine for illegal parking “will of course be paid”, but so far nothing has come from Munich. Incidentally, the first point of contact for payment is the driver.