The Dresden police are investigating 16 riot police officers for assault, coercion and misconduct. The police chief threatens to ‘restructure’ the unit.

The Dresden Public Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating eight police officers from a riot police “Evidence and Arrest Unit” (BFE) on suspicion of assault in office and coercion. They are alleged to have committed offences ‘to the detriment of police officers from their own unit’, the authorities reported on Friday afternoon. The Saxony State Criminal Police Office has been tasked with the investigation.

The Saxon online portal ‘Tag24’ claims to have learnt that the allegations relate to brutal pick-up rituals. The so-called ‘Vizeschlagen’, a practice from the time of the GDR army, is said to have been used. New members of the BFE are said to have been given a steel helmet lit with lighter fluid before older members beat out the flames with spades. In at least one case, a young police officer is said to have been incapacitated as a result. The investigations are said to have been preceded by a raid last Tuesday. Images and video footage of the ritual were discovered on the mobile phones of BFE officers.

The ‘Bild’ tabloid reports further incidents: For example, if one of the new recruits did not close the door on a police vehicle, his colleagues would scatter his luggage on the street ‘as punishment’. If the unit returned from an operation with several vehicles, the last driver – if a new recruit – had to bake a cake.

A total of eight members of the BFE are being investigated in disciplinary proceedings for breaches of their ‘duty to devote themselves to their profession with full personal commitment’. A further eight officers may have breached their ‘duty of respectful and trustworthy behaviour’ with disciplinary action also being taken against them.

The press release from the Saxon media service also quotes police chief Peter Langer: ‘When I learnt about what had happened, I was stunned,’ it says. ‘All colleagues affected’ had been sent home by the end of the year. In the event that the allegations are confirmed, Langer announces a ‘reorganisation’ of the BFE unit.

The Saxony riot police’s units for securing evidence and making arrests are spread across locations in Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. According to the authorities, a BFE consists of 40 police officers. Their tasks include taking action at ‘hotspots of disorderly behaviour’. They are tasked with arresting ‘violent troublemakers’ also on a cross-state basis.

Published in German in „nd“.

Image: New members of the BFE unit from Dresden were tortured with a steel helmet ritual (Saxony police).