“When we go into service, we are always aware of the risk”
The police officer Niklas Herrmann from Hanover is the federal youth treasurer of the police union (GdP). The 27-year-old reports how he and his colleagues are doing after the fatal shots at two police officers in Rhineland-Palatinate.
A male and female colleague are shot dead in routine action. Can you hide these actions during your own work?
When we go into service, we are always aware of the risk. You can’t prevent it, only minimize it. I didn’t remember it all that long yesterday, but of course it’s already on my mind. You empathize because you can put yourself in the situation.
Is the crime a topic in the college?
Yes, that was the main topic. Ultimately, we all do the same thing on patrol duty or in the disposal units, everyone can put themselves in the situation. Whereby: You have something like that in the back of your head, you are prepared for such dangers, but actually you don’t expect something like that. That’s not something you do every day either. Of course it affected me, as did my colleagues.
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Do you usually feel confident in your work?
Yes, in any case. When I’m working, I’m working and then I’m concentrating on what I’m doing. Then the topic is not so dominant in the head. But when you sit together now, of course you also talk about it.
The 24-year-old colleague was a candidate. Do you fear that young people will refrain from taking up the police force?
No, I don’t think that will stop someone who really wants it. Being a police officer is generally more dangerous than other jobs. You have to be aware of this when you take up the profession. Even if this case in Rhineland-Palatinate is generally more likely, if not impossible…
There is a lot of empathy and encouragement on social media, but also the worst gaffes. What does it do to you when you hear malice about such a case?
I am glad of the sympathy and that this is an issue that is not being ignored because the case is extremely dramatic. I have absolutely no understanding for the malice. One mustn’t forget that it was people who were in uniform. After work, they wanted to go home to their family, friends and partners. It is an outgrowth in this society that some people completely verbally derail in the media.
Some derail not only in the media. Police officers are also verbally attacked at antifa and now lateral thinker demonstrations. Do you feel like society’s whipping boy?
I’ve been on duty since 2016 and I’m used to the fact that there are people who don’t like us just because we do our job. I can deal with the insults. What I liked yesterday in action: Many citizens came to us at the patrol car, expressed their condolences and thanked us for our work. That’s the positive thing you see now. My colleagues and I also enjoy doing the work. And as the cabaret artist Sebastian Puffpaff says: It doesn’t hurt to say thank you.
A large number of weapons were found on the suspect. Is it too easy for us to get deadly weapons?
We have good gun laws compared to the US, I don’t want to serve there. What worries us more in everyday life is the increased willingness to use violence and the increasing use of knives.
By Petra Rückerl