A refugee is killed during an operation by gunshots by police officers.
Could death have been prevented by using so-called tasers?
The German Police Union has been calling for it to be used for a long time - but the devices are controversial.
Stade / Celle - After the fatal shots by police officers on a refugee in the Stade district, the German Police Union (DPolG) in Lower Saxony has spoken out in favor of using so-called tasers. "As the entire regional association, we are of the opinion that the Taser is an important resource," said the regional association chairman Patrick Seegers on Tuesday of the German press agency. Recently, there have been an increasing number of operations in which police officers encountered mentally unstable people who could no longer be reached verbally. According to the current legal situation, police officers only have to use a firearm as a last resort. "This is not a situation that one would wish for," said Seegers.
The DPolG chairman in Lüneburg, Christian-Tobias Gerlach, had previously emphasized the benefits of such electrical pulse devices. Gerlach told the political journal “Rundblick” on Tuesday: “The introduction of so-called non-lethal weapons would at least influence the selection process and give the intervening officials adequate decision-making options.” Gerlach and Seegers said that the use of tasers might also be possible lead to fatal injuries - but death from a taser is less likely than with the use of a firearm.
The reason for the renewed demand is a police operation around a week ago in an asylum seeker accommodation in Harsefeld in the Stade district. A 40-year-old man from Sudan who had mental health problems was shot dead by the police. According to the police, he is said to have previously threatened the officers with a knife. The Stade public prosecutor is investigating the case.
A taser is a device used to deliver electric shocks from a distance, causing painful muscle contractions. This renders a person incapable of acting. The weapons are controversial, however, as tasers can lead to health consequences when used against people with heart disease or cardiovascular problems. In contrast to other federal states, the use of tasers in Lower Saxony has so far only been permitted in operations of the Special Operations Command (SEK) since 2013. In response to a dpa request, the Ministry of the Interior referred to the high level of training required for the device to justify the restriction.
The German police union, on the other hand, calls for the use of tasers for patrol officers as well. "Those are the very ones who have to make decisions within a very short time," said Seegers, with a view to operations like the one in Harsefeld. The exact equipment, whether per emergency vehicle or per emergency worker, can be discussed. "But in any case, this equipment should be available at least once per patrol car so that it can also be used efficiently."
In view of the case in Harsefeld, the network for traumatized refugees in Lower Saxony (NTFN eV) recently also called for police officers to be trained in dealing with mentally ill refugees.
Specialists, or at least psychologists, should also be consulted for such missions.
The Ministry of the Interior and the police union consider the latter to be hardly feasible.
DPolG chairman Seegers said that police officers were also taught psychology and interviewing during their studies.
However, these could not replace a trained psychologist - especially since specific dangerous situations would have to be resolved on site when deployed under time pressure.
A personal involvement of medical or psychological specialists is not practicable in immediate police operations in an area like Lower Saxony, said the Ministry of the Interior. The ministry pointed out, however, that “for some time” the focus of further training has been on the further development of intercultural skills.
Violence during police operations was meanwhile also an issue in the Lower Saxony state parliament on Tuesday.
In the run-up to a hearing at the Commission on issues of migration and participation, numerous migrant associations approached the country with a list of demands to combat police violence.
Many people with a history of flight and migration experienced violence by the police, as reported by 18 self-organizations and associations.
This includes, for example, disproportionate harshness in police operations.
The associations demand an independent complaints and investigation body, the guarantee of more transparency in police work and the development of a culture of error within the police.
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Two men injured in the legs by gunshots
The men were shot late in the evening.
What is striking is the proximity of the two crime scenes and apparently a similar approach.
Two men injured in the legs by gunshots
There was a similar case to the last one in Harsefeld in the Stade district as early as 2019. At that time, according to the police, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan in the Bützfleth district of Stade attacked the police with an iron bar in a refugee shelter.
After the use of pepper spray was unsuccessful, one of the officers shot the 19-year-old to stop the attack.
The man died a short time later.
On Tuesday, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Celle rejected a complaint by the victim's brother against the termination of the investigation as unfounded.
The police officer's use of a firearm was justified by self-defense, said the authority.
dpa
