Berlin – Civil rights activists demanded an independent investigation last week after black people were fatally shot by police outside a nightclub in northwestern Germany. The killings sparked nationwide protests and raised concerns about what some believe is racism within German law enforcement agencies.
The victim was identified as 21-year-old Lorenz A., who was shot several times by a 27-year-old policeman in Oldenburg. According to prosecutors, an autopsy found Lorenz A. reportedly grazing his thigh. He died from a local gunshot wound.
Authorities said Lorenz A. When police were faced, they said he once again used pepper spray in a “threatening way.”
However, by Monday, prosecutors said preliminary evidence and witness reports, including security camera tapes, showed no signs of Lorentz A. Threatening the officer with a knife while being shot.
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Police said the body cameras of the relevant personnel were turned off. In Germany, police officers did not turn on their body cameras during operation without legal obligations. This is their discretion.
The shooting sparked anger across Germany, with more than 10,000 protesters gathering at the “Lorentz Justice” rally in Oldenburg on Friday. Vigils are also planned in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Vienna, neighbouring Austria.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Black Germans, demanded an independent investigation, arguing that internal police investigations were inherently biased.
“This killing has affected not only Lorentz’s family, but everyone affected by German racism,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
The campaign also urged police to be forced to turn on their body cameras during surgery involving weapons.
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The incident echoes police violence cases in the United States in 2020 George Floyd’s murder A Minnesota military officer sparked the exciting protests against systemic racism that many people regard as law enforcement and police brutality.
Just like American activists have Promote independent supervision and system reformGerman groups are now calling for the establishment of a national office to investigate allegations of police misconduct.
The case is also compared to the death of asylum seeker Oury Jalloh, Sierra Leone, which died in suspicious circumstances in a cell in German police possession and was burned when handcuffed. The case has been a symbol of alleged racism and impunity within the German police force for twenty years.
Although Germany’s relatively low speeds of officer shootings (about 10 per year) have seen a sharp rise in the number of people involved in the number of officers, 22 deaths were recorded last year alone.
A 2024 study found that nearly one-third of German police officers reported that colleagues heard comments from racism highlighting what many believe is a broader cultural issue.
