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Police cars in Rhineland-Palatinate (symbol image)
Photo: Thomas Frey / dpa
If you want to join the police in Rhineland-Palatinate, you shouldn't have any visible tattoos.
However, an applicant can also be excluded if the body painting is covered by clothing if the tattoo gives rise to “doubts as to suitability of character”.
That was decided by the district court of Trier.
A man was rejected for senior police service in Rhineland-Palatinate because of the words "Loyalty, Honor, Respect, Family" on his back.
According to the state, the terms, together with the chosen “Old English” font, conveyed the overall impression of a “code of honour”, the content of which could not be reconciled with the values of the “modern civil police”.
The applicant objected and called the decision arbitrary, based on an invisible tattoo to conclude that he was unsuitable.
He complained, but was not right.
Loyalty and honor vs. civil liberties
The state may reject an applicant for this reason, said the administrative court in Trier.
The terms “loyalty” and “honor” translated into German led to the conclusion that the applicant represented an archaic and traditional value system.
(Ref. 7 L 2837/22.TR)
The fact that the man had "loyalty" and "honor" tattooed first suggests that these values have a special meaning for him.
Loyalty to a particular person or group and the maintenance of any kind of honor can thus be of exaggerated importance.
It cannot be ruled out that "loyalty" and "honor" are more important to the applicant than the civil liberties.
He could not explain the background of his tattoo plausibly.
The man now has two weeks to appeal the decision.
svs/AFP
