Nienburg
After a fatal police operation: investigations against an officer on suspicion of right-wing extremism
Emergency services in downtown Nienburg after the fatal shots at the end of March
© Moritz Frankenberg / DPA
A police officer is said to have spread right-wing extremist content and conspiracy theories online.
One month after a fatal police operation in Lower Saxony In Nienburg an der Weser, official investigations have been initiated against an officer involved on suspicion of right-wing extremist positions. The police department in Göttingen said on Thursday that allegations had become known that the service dog handler had spread “right-wing extremist content and conspiracy theories” on the Internet. These would now be checked.
After an initial examination, the police department issued a temporary ban on the officer from conducting official business. The man is currently “pre-planned” not to be on duty for personal reasons. If the allegations are confirmed in the official investigation, the officer could have violated official duties.
Police rarely use firearms in operations
At the same time, the police department emphasized that the official measures were not related to the criminal investigation by the public prosecutor’s office in Verden, which was initiated because of the procedures during the operation on March 30th. A 46-year-old armed with a knife was hit and killed by eight bullets from police weapons. At the same time, a 45-year-old policewoman was seriously injured by gunfire from colleagues.
The use of firearms by the police is relatively rare. Service weapons are often used to kill animals – usually after accidents involving wildlife. In 2021, for example, there were around 2,500 cases of firearms being used by the police in Lower Saxony; in two cases, according to previous information from the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior, these were directed against people.