Bremen, Germany, Nov 5, (dpa/GNA) – German prosecutors on Wednesday, brought charges against a police officer, over the fatal shooting of a 21-year-old black man in the city of Oldenburg earlier this year.
The police officer allegedly fired five shots at the young man, who is identified only as Lorenz under German privacy law, in Oldenburg’s pedestrian zone early on April 20.
The autopsy report found that Lorenz was wounded in the hip, upper body and head. Three shots hit him from behind, and a fourth shot is said to have grazed his thigh, according to the report.
Investigators said the German man had previously used pepper spray outside a nightclub, slightly injuring several people, before fleeing.
When patrol officers tried to apprehend him, he approached them in a threatening manner and again, directed pepper spray at them, the investigators said.
The incident triggered nationwide protests against racism and police violence, with participants demanding a full investigation into the case.
Oldenburg prosecutors have charged the police officer who fired the shots with negligent homicide, as the officer “mistakenly believed he was acting in self-defence,” a spokeswoman said.
According to prosecutors, the officer thought Lorenz was attacking him with a knife. But it was later found that while the 21-year-old was in fact carrying a knife, he did not use it while officers were trying to detain him.
In addition, Lorenz was trying to flee the scene to evade arrest when the shots were fired, meaning there was no reason to consider this an act of self-defence, the spokeswoman said.
If found guilty, the police officer faces up to five years in prison or a fine.
GNA