On May 2nd, a mentally ill man died after a police operation in Mannheim. Many people show their solidarity with the bereaved and now want to take to the streets. The public prosecutor’s office is now commenting on a possible end to the investigation.
Mannheim (dpa/lsw) – On the occasion of a deadly police operation in Mannheim a good six months ago, a memorial procession is planned through the city center on Saturday (2 p.m.). According to the city, around 1,000 people are expected to attend the demo. Civil society wants to make specific demands so that mentally ill people do not die from police violence, announced the initiative “May 2nd Mannheim” as the organizer.
On May 2nd of this year, a man collapsed during a police operation on the market square. The emergency services and a doctor present from the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim, who had been looking for the patient with the police, took care of the 47-year-old. The man later died in hospital. According to earlier information from the State Criminal Police Office, at least one video was circulating on the Internet showing how one of the police officers hit the man lying on the ground in the head.
In mid-September, the public prosecutor’s office in Mannheim announced that the 47-year-old had died, according to a preliminary assessment of an expert opinion, from a “position and fixation-related respiratory disability” with subsequent metabolic derailment in combination with suffocation due to bleeding in the upper respiratory tract. So death was not natural. “The process is not yet complete,” said a spokesman for the authority a few days ago. “We are aiming for the process to be completed before the end of the year, if possible.”
The “May 2nd Mannheim” criticized that the police officers had caused the respiratory obstruction and the bleeding. “They should be held accountable.” The brutal act and the cause of death should not be downplayed. “You can’t look the other way here.” A commemorative plaque on the market square is intended to commemorate the dead.
