Expert makes statement: Death in police operation near Regensburg was probably heart failure  

Created: 05/25/2022, 22:10

By: Stefan Aigner

During a police operation between Regensburg and Wenzenbach on March 20, a 31-year-old died (symbolic photo).

© Stefan Aigner

After the death of a 31-year-old in a police operation near Regensburg, the commissioned expert provides a possible explanation.

Regensburg/Wenzenbach - The death of 31-year-old Daniel S. during a police operation in Grünthal (Regensburg district) on March 20 was an "interplay of various causes".

This is the conclusion reached by the expert commissioned by the public prosecutor's office from the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Erlangen.

He speaks of acute heart failure, triggered by the exertion of the violent acts of resistance against the police officers deployed.

Death in a police operation near Regensburg: Contradictions to the second report

The expert refers to the "borderline high heart weight of the deceased with a latent readiness for failure of the heart muscles", to the intake of medication, Daniel S. has suffered from schizophrenia since he was 16, and a possible (interaction) effect with cannabinoids, which are present in the blood were detected.

However, the cause of death is still not clearly established - the expert only provides a possible explanation.

There are also contradictions to a report that Daniel S.'s surviving relatives had commissioned with the help of a donor from the LMU in Munich.

Police operation near Regensburg: Officials received incorrect information

As reported several times, the 31-year-old died during a police operation on the evening of March 20 for reasons that have not yet been clarified.

Daniel S., who had suffered from schizophrenia since he was 16, had put a police patrol on a street near Grünthal.

Previously, he is said to have injured another man with a punch.

His partner called the police and followed Daniel S. until the first patrol arrived.

At the time, officials apparently assumed that he had struck with an iron bar.

A statement that later turned out to be incorrect.

It is not publicly known where it came from and why the officials used this sensitive false information.

Death in a police operation near Regensburg: too much pressure on the chest?

When he was arrested, the 31-year-old is said to have resisted violently and injured a police officer.

According to previous reports, the officers brought him to the ground and tied his hands.

Because he continued to resist, his feet were also tied up with the help of a second patrol.

In the course of all this, the 31-year-old is said to have lost consciousness at some point and eventually died.

Attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful.

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Two autopsies, one by the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Erlangen and one at the LMU Munich, did not reveal any information about the cause of death.

However, bleeding in the tissue was found - possibly triggered by pressure on the chest and a resulting respiratory blockage.

According to lawyer Philipp Pruy, who represents Daniel S.'s surviving dependents, the Munich experts "almost ruled out" that this bleeding could have occurred afterwards, as a result of attempts at resuscitation.

Death in a police operation: expert relieves police officers

Apparently, the forensic doctor from Erlangen contradicts this in his final assessment for the public prosecutor's office.

He very well considers bleeding during the course of resuscitation attempts to be possible.

The bleeding, which Daniel S. found in the eyelids, conjunctiva and pulmonary lining, among other things, "does not necessarily indicate an obstruction to breathing," according to the expert.

Such congestion bleeding occurs "with a wide variety of causes of death", in particular in 29 percent of resuscitated cardiac deaths.

Death in a police operation: Public prosecutors see no suspicion of criminal behavior

The acute occurrence of circulatory collapse also speaks against “respiratory dysfunction caused by chest compression” – put simply: the assumption that Daniel S. was unable to breathe because his chest was compressed too much by sitting on his upper body.

The witnesses present at the time would have described it - in the immediate vicinity, that is, the four police officers.

"In the case of a chest compression (...) a slowly progressing (progressive) onset of circulatory collapse can be assumed," says the press release from the public prosecutor's office.

On the basis of this assessment by the expert and the statements of two independent eyewitnesses who observed the arrest (from a distance) and did not describe any "potentially criminal behavior by the police officers deployed", the public prosecutor's office comes to the conclusion that there is still no initial suspicion of a crime against the four police officers deployed.

Police operation near Regensburg: officials had turned off body cams

The body cams that all deployed police officers wore, but which – there is no obligation – were not switched on could have shed light on the darkness.

The survivors of Daniel S. and their lawyer Pruy now have the opportunity to comment and to follow up with further questions to the expert.

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