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Rioting help: Man injures three people in Prenzlau!
A 34-year-old man rioted in Prenzlau and slightly injured three people. Police and rescue workers on duty.
Rioting help: Man injures three people in Prenzlau!
On October 16th, an incident occurred in Prenzlauer Heideweg that brought the police to the scene. A 34-year-old man was noticed by screaming loudly and was obviously in an exceptional psychological situation. The Uckermark police station reported on the operation on Friday afternoon, which represented a dangerous situation not only for the man, but also for the surrounding witnesses. They tried to help the rioter, but this escalated and led to an argument. A 40-year-old woman and two men aged 18 and 36 were slightly injured.
The police were on the scene quickly, but the handling of the situation raises questions: How should officers be trained in such crises? Loud daily news Since 2019, 37 people in psychological crises have been shot by the police in Germany. A worrying trend that is once again calling for better training for police officers. One case that has particularly come into the public eye is that of Oisín, a new father who was also shot by the police while suffering from a mental health crisis. This incident highlights the urgency for police officers to be better prepared for such situations.
Dealing with psychological crises
There are currently only three federal states in Germany that offer mandatory training for police officers in dealing with mentally ill people. This is the case in Hamburg, but the lack of money and staff makes comprehensive training difficult. The system flaw is obvious: while civil servants are often the first point of contact for people in acute crisis situations, there is a lack of a uniform training standard for dealing with mentally ill people. This highlights the need for collaboration between police and mental health professionals to be pursued much more frequently.
As in the case of Oisín, there was no mental health professional on site to provide support. This results in officers not receiving appropriate support in a potentially dangerous situation, endangering not only the safety of those involved, but also that of the police. To counteract this, Saxony-Anhalt is working on a training program that prepares police officers to deal with emergency calls professionally and calmly, especially in exceptional psychological states.
Role of the police in crisis situations
The director of the Halle police station emphasizes that tact and in-depth knowledge are of crucial importance in operations with mentally ill people. Studies show that trained emergency services can act more safely and de-escalate. This could not only reduce the risks for those affected and those around them, but also simplify the situation for police officers. The case of the 34-year-old man is currently being investigated at the Uckermark police station and an investigation is being opened for bodily harm, while he was taken to a hospital to receive medical and psychological help.
The events surrounding this incident make it clear that it is high time to focus on training police to deal with mental health crises. This is the only way to prevent many of these tragic situations in the future.
For those affected, this may mean the hope that such sensitive operations will be better managed in the future - be it through specialized officials or closer cooperation with psychiatric experts. It is to be hoped that the incidents mentioned here will serve as a turning point and bring about lasting change.