For a Tiktok video, a Berlin police officer interviews the Berlin clan leader Arafat Abou-Chaker, using the familiar form of his interlocutor. The live stream is now getting a legal aftermath: a court prohibits the official from appearing as a police officer on social media. The police union praises the verdict.
After an interview with the Berlin clan boss Arafat Abou-Chaker, a Berlin commissioner is no longer allowed to appear as a police officer on various social media for the time being. The Berlin Administrative Court decided this in an urgent procedure and thus confirmed a ban on the police, as a court spokesman said.
The authorities had forbidden the chief commissioner from his activities at Tiktok after he had conducted a livestream interview with Arafat Abou-Chaker, one of the leaders of the Palestinian-born Berlin clan, and he was on first-name terms. In June 2022, the authority banned him from all police-related social media appearances and asked him to delete his posts and profile name. On the other hand, the police officer defended himself in court – initially unsuccessfully.
In the opinion of the judges, the policeman violated his official duties with this type of secondary activity. The interview with a member of a Berlin clan revealed “an unacceptable close relationship with the clan milieu,” according to the responsible 36th chamber. This gives rise to doubts as to whether the civil servant will in future carry out his duties dutifully and impartially. As a police officer, he is subject to special duties of loyalty to his employer, which contradict private contacts in this scene.
According to the court, an appeal against the decision has already been lodged with the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court. The police have not yet provided any information as to whether disciplinary action has been taken against the officer.
According to the Berlin Police Union (GdP), there are disciplinary measures. The court’s decision points the way when it comes to the private presence of police officers on social media, explained GdP spokesman Benjamin Jendro. “It’s good that Berlin’s police have now recognized the dangers and are working on binding and transparent rules and tips.” The topic of “Insta-Cops” has long been neglected.
