Psychological alarm in Munich: Man threatens police with gun and knife!

Psychological alarm in Munich: Man threatens police with gun and knife!

The trial against Pierre L., who threatened two police officers with a pistol in a sensitive situation on Hackerbrücke on August 1st last year, began today at the Munich I Regional Court. Under the chairmanship of Judge Christian Daimer, the question arises as to how such emergencies can be handled better in the future. Pierre L. was not only armed, but also had a bread knife with a blade length of 30 cm and refused to drop it. Similar incidents, such as the tragic case at Theresienwiese, where a woman injured two people with a knife, show how explosive the issue is. According to Pierre L., he was in a highly psychotic state during the incident and feels he was lucky not to have been shot.

The public prosecutor's office assumes a psychosis caused by drugs, which, according to the legal situation, gives Pierre L. the greatest possible insanity. If a conviction were to occur, instead of a prison sentence, an indefinite placement in a psychiatric clinic would be expected. What is interesting in this context is that another incident took place when he was arrested in a fast food restaurant at the central bus station: Pierre L. had put drinks worth around 40 euros in his backpack and tried to leave without paying. When the employees approached him, he defended himself with punches.

Demand for better training

Pierre L.'s case is not an isolated case, but is part of a worrying statistic. Since 2019, police officers in Germany have shot a total of 37 people in psychological crises, and the question is repeatedly raised as to how officers can be better trained in such exceptional situations. Doctors and psychologists have repeatedly called for police officers' preparation and training to be improved to increase safety for everyone involved. But the lack of money and staff severely limits the options when it comes to training civil servants. Many federal states do not have uniform training standards, and only a few regions provide mandatory training for dealing with mentally ill people.

An example from Hamburg illustrates the situation: The tragic death of Oisín, a new father who was shot by the police in 2019, shows the dangers. Oisín was in psychological distress and was confronted with aggressive measures by the police. No additional psychiatric professional was brought in, raising questions about the officers' actions and appropriate response. The fact that 97% of investigations against police officers are dropped makes it particularly difficult to legally deal with such incidents. The Oisín case also shows that many families have to take legal action afterwards in order to bring clarity to the tragic events.

Meeting to improve the situation