- another lethal law enforcement encounter in North Rhine-Westphalia – postmortem examination scheduled
After another lethal policing incident in North Rhine-Westphalia, investigations into the Recklinghausen incident persist. Last Wednesday evening, a 33-year-old man reportedly disrupted peace in a multi-dwelling unit, creating an unsafe situation for the responding officers.
Originally, the police in Dortmund and Bochum's public prosecutor's office claimed that the man was shot, leading to his fatal injuries. An autopsy was scheduled for the following day.
Witness accounts corroborated that the man carried a knife. Many details, such as the number of officers involved, the number of shots fired, and the number of weapons used, remained elusive the day after the incident.
A representative from Dortmund's homicide unit, which assumed responsibility for the investigation due to neutrality concerns, diverted queries to Bochum's public prosecutor's office, where the assigned prosecutor was initially unavailable for comment.
Two fatal police incidents in two days in NRW
Just one day prior to the Recklinghausen incident, a man wielding knives in Moers on the Lower Rhine was fatally shot by police. The 26-year-old German man, who was reportedly severely mentally disturbed, allegedly charged at officers with two knives, prompting them to shoot. Prior to this, numerous emergency calls reported the man had assaulted and threatened several bystanders. Myriad aspects in this case continue to remain a mystery.
Meanwhile, in Dorsten, within Recklinghausen's district, investigators were still hunting for a suspect who is believed to have stabbed a rival on the previous Wednesday evening. As with the Moers case, a knife is thought to be the weapon in this instance. Incidents of knife violence have surged significantly in Germany's most populous federal state - it rose by approximately 43% in NRW's public spaces in the last year, reaching 3,540 reported incidents.
Police shootings are rare
Within Germany, police using their firearms in self-defense situations, dangerous situations, or to thwart crime is an anomaly rather than an everyday occurrence. As per statistics from the German Police University, nine deaths by police gunfire occurred nationwide in 2023, while eleven deaths by police gunfire occurred in 2022.
A list compiled by a civil rights and police magazine lists eleven cases thus far in the current year 2024, including the latest incidents from North Rhine-Westphalia. The victims were often armed with edged or blunt weapons.
In light of the rising knife violence in North Rhine-Westphalia, the police are increasingly vigilant and may be forced to use their firearms in self-defense or dangerous situations. It's crucial for the Police to thoroughly investigate every incident to ensure transparency and public trust.
Given the escalating number of incidents involving dangerous weapons, the Police must consider implementing specialized training programs to better handle such situations and minimize the risk of fatal encounters.
