Police and climate activists argue after pepper spray escalation

Created: 08/16/2022, 09:58

By: Elias Bartl

The police even had to use water cannons against the demonstrators.

© Elias Bartl

After riots broke out in Hamburg over the weekend, environmental activists are now accusing the police of fake news – the officers are fighting back.

Hamburg – Several hundred climate activists, some of whom were ready to use violence, blocked the Köhlbrandbrücke, Hafenbahn tracks in Hamburg Hausbruch and the Kattwykbrücke in the Port of Hamburg last Saturday.

On the Köhlbrandbrücke, demonstrators had concreted themselves in with their arms in a bathtub on the roadway.

Police engineering units detached them from the concrete and led them off the bridge.

Demo in Hamburg: injured on both sides

At the Kattwyk Bridge, officers used pepper spray, batons and water cannons as around 150 activists tried to break through a police cordon to get onto the adjacent train tracks.

The "Ende Gelände" group, which the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution counts in the environment of the violent extremist interventionist left, criticized that the police had used "massive violence".

Numerous activists were injured by punches and kicks.

In addition, the operations management refused the blockers drinking water when the temperature was over 30 degrees, prevented medical care from paramedics and confiscated sun protection.

Climate activists occupy train tracks in Hamburg: dispute sparked on Twitter

After a tweet, the Hamburg police sparked a dispute on the social media platform Twitter, reports 24hamburg.de.

Activists accuse the police of spreading fake news.

Police wrote there that several activists are said to have used pepper spray on the Kattwyk Bridge, injuring 15 officers.

The group "Ende Gelände" then posted a video in which a policewoman is said to have been injured by a gust of wind with her own pepper spray:

Police spokeswoman Sandra Levgrün said on Sunday that police officers were also injured by their own pepper spray.

However, Levgrün also clearly emphasized that activists had nevertheless used pepper spray against the officers deployed.

At least one case was documented and reported.

In another tweet from the police, the accusation of fake news is clearly rejected.

Environmental activists accuse the police of spreading fake news

In the statement, the Hamburg police explained that several demonstrators at the Kattwyk Bridge tried to break through a police line to get onto the nearby railway tracks.

Individuals have succeeded.

"To stop this behavior, the emergency services used coercive measures in the form of batons and pepper spray, among other things.

In addition, deployed forces reported that they were attacked from among the group of people with pepper spray.

Only through the repeated use of coercive measures was it possible to end the situation.

The gathering was broken up by the police.

Later, water cannons were also used against the group of people.

The reported observations by the emergency services were documented in a criminal complaint and are now the subject of criminal investigations."

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The police are fundamentally concerned about the increasing radicalization of the climate protests.

Police spokeswoman Levgrün criticizes that climate activists often present their attacks as a legitimate means of protest.

But it must be clear: "The actions come to an end where criminal offenses are committed." Attacks on the infrastructure include damage to property, sticking to roadways or railway tracks, coercion and attempts to break through a police line, resistance to law enforcement officers.

The week-long "System Change Camp" at the Altonaer Volkspark dissolved on Monday.

More than 2,000 people stayed in the camp, a spokeswoman said.

(DPA/EB)