A policewoman accused of membership in a right-wing extremist chat group has successfully sued her suspension.
As the administrative court in Düsseldorf announced, the service ban is illegal.
A police scandal became known in North Rhine-Westphalia in September.
31 police officers have now been suspended in the case, they are said to have sent and received photos of swastikas and Hitler in chats.
According to Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), at least five chat groups are involved.
The police officer was allegedly suspected of having received a picture of right-wing extremist ideas in a WhatsApp group called "Chat Anton".
She was suspended on September 11th.
The "specific individual case" was not taken into account, criticized the court.
It was not determined whether the policewoman had even taken note of the picture.
A parody
Furthermore, the illustration does not show Adolf Hitler, but an excerpt from the parody "Christmas with Hitler".
The person imitating Adolf Hitler, who sings Christmas carols with changed text in the cited article, is here, according to the resolution, visibly overdrawn and made ridiculous.
May this be perceived as tasteless.
However, it does not allow the conclusion that the woman has committed a "serious official offense" and violated her "political duty of loyalty".
"Not outlined in a word"
In addition, the picture was sent in October 2013.
The official's misconduct is "not outlined in a word" in the decision of the responsible state office.
The other officials suspected in the complex had received "identical notices".
The LKA accused the policewoman of not recognizing that she had resisted receipt or opposed the content.
But the LKA had not disclosed the "specific content" of the chat group, the frequency of the exchange of messages, or the policewoman's reactions.
Member of "Chat Anton"
From her membership in "Chat Anton" alone, one cannot conclude that she has taken note of individual pictures.
The accusation that she did not oppose this is therefore untenable.
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia can lodge an appeal with the Higher Administrative Court against the decision.
Icon: The mirror
jpz / AFP