Stuttgart/Tübingen (dpa/lsw) – In his free time, a police officer in Stuttgart accidentally recognized a man who had been arrested for assault. According to the police, the officer was on his way to Schwanenplatz on Wednesday when he discovered the man he was looking for. He then notified a patrol via an emergency call. When this arrived at Schwanenplatz, the 25-year-old man got up immediately and boarded an oncoming train. The recognizer followed the man so that the patrol checked him just a short time later, before the train left.
Although the man gave false information about himself, officers were ultimately able to identify him. According to a police spokeswoman, the 25-year-old is now in custody.
Police officers who have a special ability to remember faces are referred to as recognizers. According to the police, there is no special unit for this in Stuttgart. However, recognizers can be contracted in special cases. The officer who recognized the alleged criminal in Stuttgart works for the traffic police.