Police violence in Berlin: Officer charged with brutal bodily harm

Police violence in Berlin: Officer charged with brutal bodily harm

A 40-year-old police officer is suspected of physically attacking a man in a refugee accommodation in Berlin-Neukölln on June 29, 2022. The Berlin public prosecutor's office has now filed charges of bodily harm in office reported. The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. as part of a police operation that was triggered by an emergency call from an apartment occupied by the 46-year-old witness's family.

During the operation, the accused officer and another police officer asked the witness to leave the room. When he did not comply with the request, he was forcibly taken into the hallway. The officer is accused of punching the witness in the face at least once, possibly up to seven times. According to the prosecution, these beatings were not justified or proportionate.

Injuries and consequences

The 46-year-old suffered several complex facial fractures as a result of the beating, which affected, among other things, the cheekbone, the eye socket and the maxillary sinus. An operation was necessary and the witness is still suffering psychologically from the consequences of the incident and is therefore receiving medical treatment.

Similar incidents of police violence raise questions about the exercise of power within the police force. In May 2024, an occupation of a Humboldt University building by pro-Palestine activists led to another incident in which a journalist was injured. The reporter was documenting the eviction with a camera and cell phone when a 32-year-old police officer took him to the ground and handcuffed him. This measure was not appropriate, as the public prosecutor's office found, and the police officer received a penalty order that stipulates a fine of 90 daily rates of 80 euros each t online reported.

Research on police violence

The issue of police violence is not only a legal problem, but also the subject of intensive research. The KviAPol project investigates how police use of force and their criminal prosecution take place in Germany. Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the project analyzed over 3,300 affected people and over 60 qualitative interviews between 2018 and 2023. The results have been published in numerous specialist publications, including the book “Violence in Office”, which presents comprehensive findings on excessive use of force by police officers in Germany, as on the project website kviapol is to be experienced.

In summary, cases of police violence have both legal and social dimensions that need to be carefully considered. The charges against the officer and the research results on police use of force illustrate the need for a critical examination of the behavior of the security forces.