Police violence | Lorenz in Oldenburg: Fatal shot to the head from behind

The 21-year-old man killed by a police officer in Oldenburg on Easter Sunday was shot in the back at least three times. The public prosecutor's office announced this on Tuesday regarding the preliminary autopsy results. The body of the young Black man revealed gunshot wounds to his hip, upper body, and head. A fourth bullet allegedly grazed his thigh.

According to a solidarity group, the man from Oldenburg was named Lorenz. According to police, he fled at 2:40 a.m. after an altercation outside a nightclub, where he allegedly slightly injured two security guards and two people with an irritant. Several people broke off an initial pursuit because the man allegedly threatened them with a knife.

When police officers approached him, Lorenz fled again. Another patrol car crew confronted him in a side street. He approached the officers in a "threatening" manner and again sprayed tear gas. A 27-year-old police officer then "used his firearm." The victim died in the hospital.

Some aspects of this account require correction. A knife, mentioned in the initial police press release, was not found – and according to the prosecutor, there is also "no indication that he threatened the police officers with a knife." A witness told the "Taz" newspaper that the man, while fleeing, was chased by officers into the street in question; then the shots were fired. The fact that the police officer shot from behind also suggests that the situation was not "threatening."

As is customary in such cases, the Oldenburg public prosecutor's office has initiated a death investigation against the suspended police officer. The shooting would only be proportionate if the 27-year-old can credibly demonstrate that he acted in self-defense. If there is any doubt about this, the public prosecutor's office can file charges.

The Delmenhorst Police Department has been tasked with the investigation "for reasons of neutrality" – the police department itself found itself in the firing line in 2021 after 19-year-old Qosay Sadam Khalaf collapsed in custody and eventually died in the hospital. Witness statements at the time significantly diverged from the police report. Nevertheless, the investigations against the officers were discontinued.

"We now know the police procedures for framing such a fatal operation by heart, as they always follow the same script," explains Michèle Winkler of the Cologne Committee on Basic Rights. Among other things, the organization followed the trial of four police officers involved in the fatal operation against the young Senegalese refugee Mouhamed Dramé in Dortmund. "The only question is why there are still media outlets that uncritically accept the police's initial version," says Winkler regarding the fatal shootings in Oldenburg.

In Lower Saxony, governed by a red-green coalition, Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) spoke of "devastating allegations" after the autopsy results were released on Tuesday, but also warned against prematurely judging the police officers. Michael Lühmann, the Green Party's domestic policy spokesperson in the Lower Saxony state parliament, called the autopsy report "shocking" but called for the investigation to be awaited before making any political assessment.

The district chairman of the CDU Oldenburg-Stadt, however, describes "blanket accusations of institutional racism and police violence in a still-open investigation" as "dubious" and "dangerous." The domestic policy spokesperson for the AfD parliamentary group in the state parliament calls for a "fundamental" support for police officers in cases of fatal shootings. The Lower Saxony branch of the German Police Union (DpolG) is using the incident to push for Tasers to be used on patrol duty—but they must not be used against fleeing individuals.

A spontaneous initiative called "Justice for Lorenz" has been formed in the city, organizing a memorial at the crime scene for Friday evening. "We stand united against racism, which is also structural within the police," the appeal reads. Police expect well over 1,000 participants. An initial fundraising campaign by supporters has raised around €19,000 for Lorenz's family since Tuesday.