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Location in Dortmund-Dorstfeld
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Dieter Menne / dpa
In Dortmund, a man died again in the morning after a police operation.
According to the responsible public prosecutor's office, the dead man was born in Dortmund and was last without a permanent address.
According to the autopsy, the man had a serious heart condition and was also under the influence of alcohol, as the Recklinghausen police and the Dortmund public prosecutor announced in the afternoon.
A so-called taser was also triggered during the operation.
"During the autopsy carried out today, a causal relationship between the use of the distance electric impulse device and the onset of death could not be determined with certainty," it said.
The 44-year-old had a “severely pre-existing heart condition” and there were “at least indications of significant alcohol intoxication”.
A toxicological report should therefore provide more detailed information as to whether the man was also under the influence of narcotics and how strong the alcohol influence was.
A police spokeswoman had previously confirmed that "a distance electro-pulsing device was used" against the man - i.e. a taser.
Three police officers and one female officer were involved in the operation, said prosecutor Henner Kruse.
"There is currently no initial suspicion against any of them," says Kruse.
"It looks like the operation went well and the officers behaved correctly."
The officials' bodycams were secured and are now to be evaluated.
For reasons of neutrality, the officers from neighboring Recklinghausen took over the police investigations into the Dortmund case.
Early morning deployment
According to the public prosecutor's office, the four emergency services moved out to the Dorstfeld district around 4:40 a.m.
The 44-year-old hit one of the patrol cars with his fist and then tried to get into the police car through the passenger door.
Because the door was locked, he tried it on the driver's side.
He hit the officer who got out there “in the head with his fist” and injured him in the process.
Then he got into the patrol car.
At this point in the argument, an officer reportedly used the distance electro-pulse device (DEIG).
After the provisional arrest, the man collapsed and "needed resuscitation."
According to witnesses, the police and the public prosecutor's office, emergency services immediately began resuscitating the man.
An ambulance then continued the resuscitation attempts.
At 6.18 a.m. the death of the 44-year-old was found in the hospital.
The stun gun was a controversial topic during coalition negotiations after the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia in mid-May.
The CDU and the Greens finally agreed to continue testing the devices until 2024 and to connect them to a body cam.
The Greens government faction in the state parliament has now called for a thorough investigation into the police operation in Dortmund-Dorstfeld.
"Should the man's death be related to the use of the Taser, it must be examined what consequences this will have for the future use of Tasers in police operations," said domestic spokeswoman Julia Höller.
In recent years, the Greens have "repeatedly" addressed the various problems with the Taser.
"It's not without risk, and it's not suitable for all operational situations," said Höller.
Even before the formation of the coalition with the CDU, the Greens had rejected equipment with Tasers outside of the special forces in their election program, among other things because of the health risks.
For the Dortmund police, it is the second fatal operation within a few weeks.
On August 8, a 16-year-old refugee from Senegal was shot dead by a police officer in Dortmund.
In this case, the public prosecutor's office is investigating five officers.
wit/dpa