Police violence is everyday life #2

On the evening of 21.12. a very violent police action was observed on the Scheunevorplatz. Witnesses heard loud cries of pain from a police squad car of the Saxony police. When they approached, they saw a man lying on his stomach in the police car. He was being restrained by two police officers, one kneeling on his legs, the other on his back. The man was thus put in a defenseless position. He was continuously asked to let go of something. Meanwhile, pain was apparently inflicted on him in a targeted manner, which the man expressed by moaning loudly. Another witness reported that the man had previously been beaten with his fist by police officers. Paramedics who were also present during the scene did not intervene.

Witnesses who intervened critically were also attacked by the police officers, who seemed overwhelmed and unprofessional in the situation. An angry policewoman told the witnesses that she was in a bad mood because she had been bitten by the man and tried to justify the violent actions. Due to the massive action of the police officers, no exchange was possible between the witnesses and the person concerned.

For the continuation of the journey in the car, the affected person remained in the middle part of the car with the two police officers, who had previously held him on the ground for several minutes. The officer who had previously restrained the legs ended the restraint. No other officers joined them for assistance. This additionally raises the question to what extent the painful fixation on the floor for several minutes could have been 'necessary'.

We condemn the police violence against such a defenseless person. What happened beforehand does not justify extra-legal punishment measures by the police. Furthermore, we observe with concern that the Scheunevorplatz has been declared a so-called dangerous place, where the police have far-reaching powers and may, for example, control and search people without cause. Studies show on the one hand that the police control people in such places for racist motives, and on the other hand that such strong intervention rights of the police are accompanied by an increased number of police violence.

Witnessed the incident? Report it at kgp@systemli.org or via the report form: https://kgp-sachsen.org/en/report/