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Horst Seehofer: Convinced "that the overwhelming majority of our police officers reject such machinations"
Photo:
POOL / REUTERS
North Rhine-Westphalia is currently experiencing a police scandal, the extent of which cannot yet be overlooked.
It's about right-wing extremist messages in chat groups with sometimes inhuman content.
And it's also about leadership failure.
Nevertheless, according to a report by the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) continues to reject a study on racist prejudice among the police.
"This process with the police in North Rhine-Westphalia hurts," said Seehofer, although the "SZ".
But he is convinced "that the overwhelming majority of our police officers reject such machinations".
This majority stands "beyond any doubt about our free democratic basic order," said the minister.
The protection of the constitution will "present a report on this issue at the end of September".
However, this status report on right-wing extremism in the public service was planned for a long time regardless of current developments.
"We strongly advocate intensifying research in this field," said the SPD interior expert in the Bundestag, Lars Castellucci, of the "SZ".
Nobody questions an entire profession because of individual incidents.
The large majority in the police are constitutional, he also emphasized.
It is all the more important, however, "to recognize early on whether there are attitude patterns and prejudices among employees of the security authorities".
There is also still a lack of intercultural competence in authorities.
All officials are temporarily no longer on duty
There are allegations of right-wing extremist activities against 29 police officers, mostly from the Essen police headquarters.
NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) spoke of a "shame for the NRW police" and "worst, most disgusting, neo-Nazi, racist and anti-refugee" agitation.
Reul also explained what one should imagine by that.
Hitler pictures, swastikas.
But that too: the fictional representation of a refugee in the gas chamber of a concentration camp.
Or the shooting of a black man.
All officers concerned have been temporarily removed from service.
Investigations are underway against eleven of them for sedition and the use of anti-constitutional organization symbols.
These eleven police officers are said to have actively posted and sent content relevant to criminal law in the chat groups.
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