After the publication of chats that Frankfurt police officers are said to have sent to each other, the Hessian Ministry of the Interior referred to the disciplinary measures that had already been imposed as a result. The Ministry of the Interior in Wiesbaden said disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against five officers within the police since 2018. Within the scope of the legal possibilities, bans on conducting official business and dismissals were issued “so that none of the officials concerned are actively on duty.” However, due to ongoing criminal proceedings in the matter, the disciplinary proceedings have been “suspended until the criminal proceedings have been legally concluded”.
In the program “ZDF Magazin Royale” Jan Böhmermann showed images and texts as well as comments from the already well-known chats that were directed against refugees, Jews, women and the disabled. The Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office filed charges in January last year, but the Frankfurt regional court refused to open the main proceedings. The public prosecutor’s office appealed against this. A decision “is still pending,” the ministry said.
The Frankfurt police headquarters also referred to the temporary dismissal of three of the five officers. For one police officer, 40 percent of his salary would be withheld; for another, this would not be possible for economic reasons. In a third case, an official has sued against his temporary dismissal, the court decision is still pending, it was said. This civil servant should have 50 percent of his salary withheld. In Böhmermann’s broadcast, with reference to a media report from May, it was said that the civil servants had been receiving “full salaries for years.”
According to the police headquarters, the two remaining officers do not meet the legal requirements for temporary dismissal, but are still prohibited from conducting official business.
