“It depends on the specific situation”Police shooting of 12 year old – as legal experts say
How could this operation improve to such an extent?
Twelve-year-old Maria (name changed) is said to have attacked police officers in Bochum with two knives. They then shot. The deaf girl suffered life-threatening injuries. Was police shooting really necessary?
“Any knife attack can end in death”
After a police officer shot twelve-year-old Maria in Bochum, investigators assumed that the girl had previously attacked the officer. The homicide team’s investigation remains in full swing, authorities said. The reason is, there are still many unanswered questions – including whether the shot should have been fired. “From the outside, this seems very disproportionate when we think about the balance of power,” said legal expert Arndt Kempgens in an interview with RTL. “A 12-year-old deaf girl, then police officers encountering each other, it seems completely disproportionate at first. But of course it depends on the specific situation, because any knife attack can be fatal.” That’s what “certainly goes through a police officer’s mind” in such a situation.
Reading tips: Maria (12) was shot by police – now her mother tells the story of that horror night
According to dpa, a total of two police officers raised weapons at the location. One of them uses an electrical impulse device, which is a weapon intended to briefly paralyze a girl who is exposed to an electric shock. But the other one grabbed his service weapon. “While directly in front of the police officers, they used firearms and DEIG,” police and prosecutors said. Is this a threatening and extraordinary situation?
“We’re within self-defense law here if it’s a self-defense situation. The attack can be said to be a challenge, and then the officer is only allowed to do what is, so to speak, the lightest way possible under the circumstances,” explained legal expert Arndt Kempgens. Whether the officers’ reactions were actually appropriate is still being examined.
Video tip: Police shoot deaf man (12).
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The twelve year old is now out of danger
When the deaf girl disappeared from the assisted living group, the police looked for her because she was dependent on essential medication. The officer rang the doorbell of the mother’s house, who was also deaf. Officers were then able to see the missing girl and her brother in the apartment. However, the mother blocked their access to the apartment, and she was detained by officers, according to police and the district attorney’s office. Maria is then said to have attacked police officers with two large kitchen knives.
Reading tips: Police shot a deaf girl (12) in Bochum – officers now confirm the use of firearms
The twelve-year-old could not yet be questioned; he is in the intensive care unit. His condition remains “critical but stable,” an Essen police spokesman said. There was no investigation against him for the alleged knife attack because, at the age of twelve, he was not yet criminally responsible.
Sources used: dpa, RTL’s own research
