German police went to the scene upon notice and found Ertekin Özkan, half-naked, with a knife in his hand. Özkan did not let go of the knife, and the German police shot and killed Özkan. The police became the focus of criticism because they fired in a way that killed rather than injured, despite the distance between them.
HE WELCOME THE POLICE, HALF NAKED, WITH A KNIFE IN HIS HAND
In a joint statement on Saturday, the Mannheim Prosecutor’s Office and the Police Department stated that a person called the police and said that he had committed a crime. The police went to the area upon notice and encountered Özkan, half-naked and holding a knife.
The police, who warned Özkan to drop the knife, fired 4 shots at Özkan, who took a step towards them after a while. Özkan, who was seriously injured, died in the hospital where he was taken.
POLICE SHOOTED FROM METERS DISTANCE
Images of the moment of the incident appeared on social media.
In the footage, Ertekin Özkan wanted to walk towards the police with the knife in his hand, while there was a distance of 3-4 meters between them, and he was shot by the police.
“IT COULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED BY INJURY”
Many social media users criticized the German police for shooting with intent to kill, stating that the police could have stopped Özkan with a non-fatal wound instead of killing him by shooting him directly.
“MY MOTHER IS HERE”
In the footage, it can be seen that a witness to the moment Özkan was shot reacted by saying, “His mother is here. You shot him in front of his mother’s eyes,” and the police tried to remove people from the scene of the incident.
CONSUL GENERAL SEZGİN ACTIVED
Turkey’s Consul General in Karlsruhe, Mahmut Niyazi Sezgin, visited the family of the murdered Özkan and expressed his condolences.
Sezgin also received information about the incident from police officials.
(AA-IHA)
