Oer-Erkenschwick (dpa / lnw) – After a police operation against a man who subsequently died in the Recklinghausen district, twelve officers are still being investigated. A preliminary investigation into bodily harm in office is ongoing against eight police officers, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said on Monday. Four others are accused of coercion – they are said to have deleted a video of a witness in at least one case. The witness’ lawyer sees evidence for the allegation of suppression of evidence, should the suspicion be confirmed.
On August 7, the police were called to a 39-year-old who is said to have rioted in his apartment. According to the police, he put up massive resistance, the police used pepper spray and fixed him. The 39-year-old lost consciousness during the operation and died hours later in hospital. Investigators suspect he was under the influence of drugs.
There were a good 150 onlookers on site, many filming with their cell phones. The public prosecutor’s office sees evidence in four officials that they could have viewed recordings on the witnesses’ cell phones and, in at least one case, deleted them. Attorney Hans Reinhardt, representative of one of those affected, said that according to his client, the officials took his cell phone away, opened the file and deleted it. Everything happened very quickly, he was perplexed, according to the witness. From the lawyer’s point of view, not only is there an accusation of coercion, but also the suppression of documents.
A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said on Monday that the four police officers had not all commented on the matter. At least one said they would not provide any information about the case. According to his client’s description, the police officers referred to the protection of privacy, said attorney Reinhardt. But this is about evidence, not personal rights. “Otherwise you could never secure evidence,” said the lawyer. It is unclear how much of the operation was seen on the video.
The cause of death of the 39-year-old remained unclear even after the autopsy. The results of the toxicological tests are not yet complete, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office.
