Violence in police operations: propaganda with wrong video

A video is circulating on social networks that is supposed to show a violent police operation at a demonstration against high energy prices. The material was created in the run-up to a football match.

“A German lesson in civics” says a message distributed by the Messenger service Telegram, which shows a video of a violent police operation. You can see how a police officer fixes a man lying on the ground with his knee on his face and hits him several times in the kidney area. According to the author of the message, the video is of a federal police operation against demonstrators in a protest against rising energy prices.

The message goes on to say: “In the Federal Republic of Germany, the ‘tough crackdown’ against local demonstrators was welcomed across all parties when it was a question of ‘protesting measures’.” Channels popular with the “Querdenker” movement, such as that of singer Michael Wendler, shared this message. The video also spread on Facebook in connection with police violence against demonstrators.

Video was made in the run-up to a football game

But the video was not made in connection with a demonstration against rising energy prices. Instead, according to the police, it is an “already well-known video” that was created in the run-up to the Hamburg city derby between FC St. Pauli and Hamburger Sport-Verein on October 14th. The police describe a connection with a demonstration about increased energy prices as “humbug”.

FC St. Pauli also confirms this ARD fact finderthat the video was taken before the game against HSV. “You can see our stadium in the background, and we know the video and eyewitness reports that show it was filmed here,” the club said.

Disagreement about the initial situation

The video caused a stir in mid-October due to the actions of the police officers. Around 150 to 200 St. Pauli fans tried to rush to the HSV fans near the Millerntor Stadium. The police prevented this, as can be seen in the video, sometimes violently. A A 60-year-old man suffered a serious hip/leg injury that police said “required a hospital stay.”

While the police speak of an “imminent physical altercation”, writes the fan blog “Millerton”that the fans turned back long before they reached the opposing fans and that the situation had “actually calmed down again” before the action was filmed.

FC St. Pauli criticizes the use as disproportionate

The police scientist Rafael Behr, who teaches at the police academy in Hamburg, told the NDR that he considers the use of the man in the video to be excessive, even if it is not clear what happened before. In the present case, however, a milder remedy would have sufficed.

FC St. Pauli also criticized the police operation as disproportionate and called for clarification. A complaint has since been filed against the police officer. FC St. Pauli called it “particularly shabby” that this video was now being exploited “by fanatics who want to make politics and make money with conspiracy legends and targeted false reports”.