"It’s about the suspicion of bodily harm in office," said police spokesman dirk siemering. The police did not provide any further information on the details of the operation, referring to the ongoing proceedings. Bremen’s police president, lutz muller, said he expected a full investigation into the incident.
The public prosecutor’s office has taken over the investigation and is conducting it together with the internal investigations department of the interior authorities, said public prosecutor claudia kuck. According to the police, they only found out about the video because of the reporting.
Several patrol car crews were on the scene in the early morning of june 23. June was called to a discotheque near the main train station after a fight broke out there. Video footage shows at least seven officers wrestling the resisting 28-year-old to the ground in the entrance area and finally driving him away. A police officer kicks violently and beats the 28-year-old several times with a baton.
The public prosecutor’s office now wants to view the entire event captured on video and identify the people involved, said kuck. The 28-year-old was also charged with assault and resisting arrest. He is said to have slapped a checkroom attendant at the disco before going on duty.
The "bild" newspaper reported that the man was treated in hospital after the incident with bruises on his head, face, ribs and back.
The national chairman of the german police union (dpolg), rainer wendt, called for no pre-judgements to be made. The photos only show a few moments of the overall situation. "No one knows how the people behaved before they were picked up."