Caregivers are said to have been involved in »custodial measures«, CS gas is said to have been used against residents more than 20 times: In the case of alleged abuse and deprivation of liberty in a facility for the disabled in North Rhine-Westphalia, the public prosecutor has expanded the investigation.
In the process, the investigators are now against 145 suspects.
Among them are the former head of a division, doctors and responsible supervisors as well as members of the nursing staff, as stated in a message from the police of the Minden-Lübbecke district and the Bielefeld public prosecutor's office.
The accused are said to have locked residents of the social facility without a court order and fixed them on chairs or mats.
At least 32 people were allegedly mistreated in this way.
26 more objects searched
According to the public prosecutor's office, the nurses participated in the deprivation of liberty of the disabled, "but without having ordered it."
This also explains the high number of accused.
A case-by-case examination is intended to clarify whether the use of the irritant gas was justified by self-defense.
However, the authority is investigating for deprivation of liberty and dangerous bodily harm.
According to the police, the investigations began in 2019 after a relative reported a complaint, and the former head has been investigated since October 2019.
On Saturday, the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Health confirmed that a separate project group had been set up to investigate the allegations.
The organization responsible for the facility, the Diakonische Stiftung Wittekindshof (DSW), announced in July 2020 that it would dissolve the affected business area.
The foundation unreservedly supports the investigations of the public prosecutor's office, it said in a statement in summer 2020.
However, the police recently moved on to another raid.
After the police investigative commission »Autumn« searched the rooms in October 2019, a total of 26 objects with a focus on the East Westphalia-Lippe region have now been searched.
Icon: The mirror
apr / AFP