Peter R. had definitely drunk too much, had long since lost his driver’s license, and when the police tried to stop him that September night in 2021, he accelerated his Porsche to lose them. Finally, on the A 94, he pulled over to the right. What happened next is described contradictory by different participants. In any case, what happened when police officer Benjamin D. approached the Porsche head-on was life-threatening for at least two people.
He says the driver suddenly accelerated and had to save himself to avoid being run over. The passenger in the Porsche says: The car only jerked briefly, “then the policeman immediately shot us.” The 29-year-old fired four shots, one through the side window. Two bullets hit the driver in the cheek and ear. The court now stands: the Porsche driver.
The 54-year-old Peter R. defender Marc Wederhake explains for his client that he will not comment at first. So Benjamin D. from the Bogenhausen inspection first tells what happened on September 1, 2021 from his point of view. Shortly before midnight he wanted to carry out “suspicion-independent checks” with a colleague near the Friedensengel. The black Porsche was noticed. He drove behind and switched on the “Stop Police” signal on the roof, but the driver did not react. Headlight flashers, horns and blue lights came on, but the Porsche quickly pulled away on Prinzregentenstrasse in the direction of the Autobahn.
From the Vogelweideplatz, the Porsche accelerated on the A 94, “with our 2-series BMW we were inferior there,” says the police officer. The patrol car did about 220 kilometers per hour – not enough for the Porsche. But in the distance he saw two vehicles next to each other on the autobahn, “I assume that’s why the Porsche driver had to slow down.” At the Daglfing exit, the driver tried to drive away, but he was overtaken and was able to stand across the restricted area in front of his car.
The police officer speaks of a defensive reaction
Benjamin D. got out alone in the dark. He says he shined the flashlight on the Porsche in his left hand and the gun in his right, “at about a 45-degree angle.” Suddenly the Porsche reversed briefly and then came towards him. “I realized that my life was in danger,” says the police officer. He quickly ran to the side. A jump, he replies when asked, was not necessary. “But the four shots were necessary?” comes promptly from defender Marc Wederhake. The police officer said he didn’t want to comment on that. Only: It was a defensive reaction. The Porsche continued to race on the Autobahn and exited at the Am Moosfeld exit. There they lost sight of him.
Sabrina K. is an escort lady by profession and had emptied a bottle of champagne with Peter R. in the city before leaving in the Porsche. According to the indictment, Peter R. had almost two parts per thousand alcohol in his blood. At the Friedensengel, she noticed the police trying to stop her, “but he just accelerated.” When R. raced across the freeway, she was done with her life, “I thought we’d die in an accident.” R. just kept staring in the rear-view mirror.
At the Daglfing exit, a police officer aimed his gun directly at her and approached her. At that moment, the car jerked, “and the police officer fired immediately.” She raised her arms protectively, when she raised her head again, the policeman shot the car through the right side window again. “The bullet grazed my arm and landed in his cheek,” she said, looking at the accused.
Peter R., covered in blood, steered the Porsche off the autobahn in Daglfing, she just screamed that she wanted to get out. She is now undergoing psychological treatment and can no longer make house calls or get into a car with men. Peter R. is now in court accused of attempted dangerous bodily harm, among other things. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the police officer’s use of firearms. The process is ongoing.