Magdeburg (dpa/sa) – SPD parliamentary group leader Katja Pähle has called for clarification with regard to a class chat by police students with racist and violent content. She also did not rule out a committee of inquiry in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. That is not the primary goal and there are certain hurdles, said Pähle on Thursday in Magdeburg.
In the coalition, however, you will have to talk about whether the discussion in the interior committee is sufficient. “An essential point for this will be the actions of the interior minister, because she has the reins of action in her hands and can thus also ensure that nobody has any doubts that there will actually be consequences.”
Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang (CDU) made public on Wednesday that 18 police officers are to be fired because they are said to have been involved in a class chat with content glorifying violence as police students. “According to the current state of knowledge, 11 of the 18 employees have actively posted messages, videos and pictures with corresponding content in the chat group,” she said.
According to Zieschang, the chat lasted from September 2017 to December 2021. At least 50 of over 5,000 individual messages were anti-Semitic, racist or glorified violence. Criminal investigations were initiated against 4 of the 18 police officers for using license plates of unconstitutional organizations, hate speech and distribution of violent and animal pornography.
The opposition Greens parliamentary group has submitted a motion for next week’s state parliament session that aims to create a modern error culture in the police force. “The fact that no one from the chat group intervened is discouraging, especially for those affected by violence and crime,” said domestic policy spokesman Sebastian Striegel. “Saxony-Anhalt’s police have a problem with their own error culture. Clear changes, better protection for whistleblowers and an independent police officer are needed to make noticeable improvements.”
