In Emden, two police officers seriously injured a 21-year-old man. The officers are charged in other bodily injury cases.

The two police officers charged before the Aurich court on April 16 Photo: Lars Penning/dpa

aurich dpa/taz | Two police officers have rejected the accusations against them at the beginning of a trial for alleged police violence. The two defendants must answer before the regional court in Aurich. The prosecutor's office accuses the officers of the Emden police station, now aged 27 and 33, of a total of five cases of bodily harm during the exercise of their duties. This is about the operations in Emden about three years ago. According to the indictment, both agents were on duty during one of the operations. At the end of May 2021, a 21-year-old man was so seriously injured that he suffered several fractures to his face and had to be treated in hospital.

The operation occurred because the police were searching for the 21-year-old after his disappearance. Police officers found the young man with an electric scooter on a street in Emden city centre. The agents who are now on trial were called in as backup for an arrest. According to the prosecution, the operation intensified. The accused officers are said to have violently physically assaulted the 21-year-old “massively” and “without justifiable cause.”

The two police commissioners explained through their lawyers on Tuesday that they had restrained the 21-year-old during the operation. Apparently, the man was in an “exceptional psychological situation.” “He was very aggressive and hit his head on the ground,” explained the 27-year-old police officer through his lawyer. That's why he held the 21-year-old's head, but did not hit him.

The 21-year-old told the court that he no longer remembered exactly what the operation was like. He also stated that he did not perceive police officers as such. The victim described how he was forced into a car and suffocated. He was subsequently beaten in the courtyard of the police station while he was handcuffed behind his back. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. A blood sample showed that the 21-year-old was under the influence of drugs.

The court wants to hear the facts of the other defendants in the coming days and hear from more witnesses. Cases of excessive police violence rarely come to justice.