Cologne (dpa / lnw) – Six months after the death of a tenant by police bullets during an eviction in Cologne, the public prosecutor’s office has stopped the investigation. In the death investigation, there were “no concrete indications of criminally relevant misconduct by third parties,” said senior public prosecutor Ulrich Bremer on Thursday when asked. The use of firearms by the police officers was justified by the right of self-defence. The “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger” reported first (Friday).
The tenant was hit by two shots by two police officers during an eviction in early August 2022. According to the prosecutor, the 48-year-old threatened the officers with a knife. Although the police officers used tear gas and asked him to drop the knife, the man, who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, approached the officers with his knife raised. The officers fired the targeted shots for their own protection, Bremer explained.
The responsible bailiff had asked the police for administrative assistance with the planned eviction because the tenant was known to be violent and mentally disturbed. Therefore, eight police officers accompanied the bailiff and violently opened the apartment door with a ram.
