German police officers under investigation over knee-on-neck arrest of minor
Police in Germany are facing an investigation after video emerged of officers arresting a minor while one of them kneels on his neck in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
In a statement released on Tuesday, German police said that the four Dusseldorf Police officers involved were being probed with regard to the particular incident.
“The video is being closely examined in respect of the way in which the police intervention took place,” the statement read.
The investigation was being led by officers from a neighboring city to ensure impartiality, it added.
Police said the minor had attacked officers when they were called to deal with a group of hooligans at a restaurant in the region.
Herbert Reul, the state interior minister, said on Monday that he was shocked when he saw the footage and ordered an investigation.
A spokesman for the German police union said that rules permitted police to restrain a suspect by kneeling on their head but not on their neck or throat.
The footage circulating on social media shows one officer pinning the boy’s hands behind his back and another kneeling on his neck. Onlookers can be heard saying “That’s not funny!” and “Move your knee.”
The incident, which happened on August 15, was reminiscent of the arrest and death of African-American George Floyd in the United States.
On May 25, Floyd died after a white police officer arresting him in Minneapolis held him prone on the ground with his knee on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.
Floyd’s death sparked huge protests across the United States and elsewhere in the world against racial discrimination and police brutality.
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