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Police officers on duty (symbol image)
Photo: Silas Stein/ dpa
The incident dates back several months: on April 27, a homeless man died in a Berlin clinic.
He had collapsed during an arrest seven days earlier after police officers asked him and two other men to exit a stairwell.
For the two officers involved, the operation may now have consequences.
As the public prosecutor's office in Berlin has now announced, preliminary proceedings against the police officers were initiated on June 3 "based on the results of the autopsy".
There is a suspicion of bodily harm resulting in death.
On behalf of the public prosecutor's office, a murder commission from the State Criminal Police Office is now investigating.
According to the police, the drunk threw a glass bottle at the officers and punched and kicked them.
The police officers then used irritants and fixed the man.
As a result, he became short of breath and lost consciousness – after attempts at resuscitation he finally died in the hospital.
Announcement only weeks after the start of the investigation
According to SPIEGEL information, the officers are a woman and a man.
The public prosecutor's office has not yet provided any information on the age of the police officers.
The public prosecutor's office justified the fact that the procedure was only made public more than two weeks after the start of the investigation by saying that the officials had not been informed either.
In their initial report on the operation, the police wrote that the 39-year-old was initially stabilized by the resuscitation measures and taken to the hospital.
The officials themselves had suffered eye and respiratory irritation from the irritant and had to stop their work injured.
fek/jpz/AFP
