Left colleagues under fire: Two policewomen threatened with losing their jobs
Two policewomen face the risk of being dismissed from their jobs after fleeing the scene of a shooting without assisting their colleagues. The incident occurred more than five years ago in the city of Gevelsberg, a town located in the southern Ruhr area of Germany.
In early May 2020, the two policewomen were driving a police car through a dark industrial area in Gevelsberg when they passed two colleagues who were conducting a traffic stop. After noticing something suspicious in the rearview mirror, they stopped and got out of the vehicle, when suddenly gunfire erupted.
Instead of providing assistance, or requesting support immediately, or firing warning shots, they were overtaken by panic. They stopped a passing car, got in with an unknown driver, and left the scene in a hurry, leaving their colleague under a hail of bullets. The command center was only informed later.
In about 20 seconds, 21 bullets were fired. One of the police officers was shot in the upper abdomen, but he survived thanks to wearing a bulletproof vest. The actions of the two policewomen sparked widespread outrage and led to criminal charges against them.
At that time, the ages of the two policewomen were 32 and 37 years, and they appeared before the judiciary. The Amtsgericht (District Court) initially sentenced each of them to one year in prison with a suspended sentence, a ruling that would have led to their losing their jobs. However, the Landgericht Hagen (Regional Court of Hagen) later reduced the sentence to four months with a suspended sentence, which temporarily restored their hope of continuing in police work.
Following the criminal trial, both Nadina A. and Patricia B. were transferred to administrative work and then suspended. The disciplinary proceedings have been postponed until now. Authorities confirmed that a formal disciplinary complaint has been filed with the Verwaltungsgericht Münster (Administrative Court in Münster).
The Kreispolizeibehörde im Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (Police Authority in the Ennepe-Ruhr District) clarified that the aim of the lawsuit is to terminate their status as civil servants, which is the harshest penalty stipulated by German disciplinary law. The two policewomen justified their actions during the criminal trial by expressing their extreme fear for their lives.