In November, a deaf twelve-year-old was seriously wounded by police gunfire in Bochum. A forensic report now undermines the officers’ claim of self-defence. Central questions remain unanswered, and the family’s rights as victims are being curtailed. The case is further complicated by the absence of professional sign language interpreting for the family.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Hagen has evaluated a forensic report in the case of a deaf twelve-year-old who was seriously injured by police gunfire in Bochum-Hamme in November. The report concludes that the shot was fired from a distance of 61 centimetres. WDR reported on this first; a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the figure to nd. The authority has, however, declined to release the report itself.

The police had initially claimed that the girl had been handling two knives and attacked the officers, whereupon a Taser and a firearm were deployed. This alleged self-defence situation is now in question.

Two officers had been sent to the flat at midnight after the girl had been reported missing from a supervised residential group and was believed to be with her family. Her mother, who is also deaf, and her brother were present in the flat; the family is from Montenegro. There are no other witnesses to the operation.

Contradictory accounts of events

The family’s lawyer, Simón Barrera González, described the sequence of events differently from the police. According to him, the officers had attempted to force the door open. When the mother opened it from inside the darkened flat, the officers had already drawn their weapons. “They came in as if it were a raid on serious criminals,” González said at the time to nd. The woman was subsequently pinned to the floor, after which the shots were fired. The police version, according to which the girl attacked the officers with knives, is disputed by the family.

The investigation now aims to establish whether the girl actually moved towards the officers in the narrow hallway – or whether the police stormed into the very small flat and thereby created the dangerous situation in the first place. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has declined to comment further. “The investigation is otherwise ongoing,” the spokesperson said.

“Protection, not confrontation”

Lawyer González considers the report to have refuted earlier police claims about the incident. He describes the distance of 61 centimetres to nd as “almost a point-blank shot to the chest.” He says central questions remain unanswered, including why the officers deployed a Taser and a firearm simultaneously. Investigations into this are progressing slowly, according to González. The family also has no access to the case files, which he says is curtailing victims’ rights.

No objective evidence has so far been produced for the alleged knife attack by the girl, according to the lawyer. Even if the allegations were true, the police could have withdrawn to the stairwell – in keeping with the principle of “protection, not confrontation” that applies to officers as well. Should the investigation actually establish that the girl ran towards the officers, González argues this should rather be seen as a situation of self-defence or defence of others on the part of the twelve-year-old – given the police violence against her mother.

Interpreting problems

The Public Prosecutor’s Office now intends to re-interview the underage victim, her brother, and her mother, as well as the officers involved. A key issue will be how the police arrange interpreting – the mother and brother use different sign languages, for instance.

Professional, reliable interpreting structures had not been used, Christine Tschuschner-Cucu of the association Gebärdenfunken, who supported the family, had already criticised at the time. This had massively hampered communication with authorities and psychosocial support. The problem persists, Tschuschner-Cucu told nd by telephone. Interpreting for the girl is currently being provided by the residential group, whose staff are neither competent nor licensed to do so.

Girl’s life was in danger

The girl sustained a hit to the torso and required multiple operations. At times her life had been in danger. Police and the judiciary have declined to make the precise severity of the internal injuries public on grounds of personal data protection.

According to the Hagen Public Prosecutor’s Office, the conclusion of the new investigation “cannot be expected any time soon.” Only after that will a decision be made on whether to bring charges against the officers who fired.

Published in German in „nd“.

Image: The police had alleged a situation of self-defence, on the basis of which a Taser and firearm were deployed against the girl. That account is now in question (Kevin Hackert, Bundespolizei – BMW), CC BY-NC 2.0.