Germany edition

Police

The following articles have been tagged with "Police":

Rent-jumping family caught by police

National: 9 Feb 12
An eight-person family that avoided paying rent for years by moving house every two to three weeks has finally been caught in the northern German town of Schneverdingen. READ »

Sick pups found in van

Society: 9 Feb 12
German police this week rescued 92 puppies from a van, after the dogs had spent 13 hours being transported across Europe without food or water. READ »

Drunken Munich U-Bahn train driver busted

National: 8 Feb 12
A drunken train driver for Munich’s U-Bahn metro has been relieved of his duties after being busted driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.2 percent. READ »

German papers win paparazzi case in Europe

Society: 8 Feb 12
German media outlets did not infringe on celebrities' privacy rights when they printed sensitive photographs or stories, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday. READ »

Frozen kraut jam leaves autobahn drivers sauer

Society: 7 Feb 12
An accident involving two trucks, a car and a large quantity of sauerkraut caused a 10-kilometre traffic jam on the A5 motorway in the German state of Hesse on Tuesday morning after the German delicacy froze solid on the road. READ »

Syrian spy suspects arrested in Berlin

National: 7 Feb 12
German police arrested two men in Berlin Tuesday accused of spying on opponents of the Syrian regime in raids involving some 70 officers, federal prosecutors said. READ »

Germans jailed in UK for owning terrorist material

National: 7 Feb 12
Two German men were jailed in Britain on Monday after pleading guilty to possessing articles from an al-Qaida magazine. READ »

Car thieves discover dead baby

National: 6 Feb 12
Four young car thieves in the western German state of Saarland notified the police on Sunday night after they stumbled on the corpse of a small baby in the boot of a car they were breaking into. READ »

Man rescued from canoe on frozen river

Society: 6 Feb 12
A man had to be rescued from the frozen River Elbe in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein on Sunday after his canoeing trip in sub-zero temperatures turned out not to be such a good idea. READ »

Socks provided key clue in neo-Nazi case

National: 5 Feb 12
Police investigating the Zwickau-based neo-Nazi terror cell identified one of the group's alleged members, Beate Zschäpe, as the person who blew up the home she shared with two other suspects by analysing her socks, a new report said. READ »

Coldest night yet grips chilled Germany

Society: 4 Feb 12
The cold snap that has put much of Europe in a deep freeze reached its chilliest point in Germany on Friday, with minus 27-degree temperatures making for the coldest night of the winter season. READ »

Dissidents storm Syrian embassy in Berlin

National: 4 Feb 12
A group of Syrian dissidents vandalised the Syrian embassy in Berlin on Friday, destroying furniture and defacing pictures of President Bashar al-Assad. Germany's Foreign Office condemned the intrusion "in the strongest terms." READ »

China doesn't want to 'buy Europe'

Business & Money: 3 Feb 12
As German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrapped up her visit to China on Friday, the Asian giant’s leaders promised they had no intention to "buy Europe," amid concerns over growing Chinese investment in debt-stricken eurozone economies. READ »

Football legend makes Alzheimer admission

Society: 2 Feb 12
Macho German football legend Rudi Assauer says he has Alzheimer’s Disease, an admission one expert told The Local could help stoke discussion of an illness still considered taboo in many circles. READ »

Compassion needed for homeless out in cold

Society: 2 Feb 12
As a homeless man was found frozen to death on a bench in northern Germany on Thursday, authorities across the country called for people to show compassion for those in danger from the harsh weather. READ »

Commandos arrest neo-Nazi terror suspect

National: 1 Feb 12
A man accused of supplying a neo-Nazi terror group with weapons was arrested in Düsseldorf on Wednesday morning, accused of being an accessory to six of the ten racist murders said to have been carried out by the gang. READ »

Government aims to hire more minorities

National: 1 Feb 12
Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has unveiled a formal programme designed to increase the number of minorities in public service, calling integration “more urgent than ever.” READ »

Manhunt after second Bochum prisoner flees

National: 1 Feb 12
German authorities are investigating how a prisoner being held on the request of Polish authorities on suspicion of attempted murder and arson managed to escape a North Rhine-Westphalia prison on Sunday and remains on the run. READ »

Police arrest 70 in left-wing Berlin riots

National: 29 Jan 12
Around 70 people were arrested and 30 police officers injured during riots in Berlin early on Sunday after several incidents blamed on left-wing activists escalated. READ »

Corruption cops raid presidential office

National: 29 Jan 12
Police raided the Office of the Federal President late last week, it was confirmed on Sunday, as they continue to investigate President Christian Wulff’s former spokesman and advisor for corruption. READ »

Cops 'quizzed neo-Nazi terror cell woman' in 2007

National: 29 Jan 12
Police questioned a member of a neo-Nazi terror cell just months before the gang killed a policewoman – but asked her about water damage to a flat, having no idea she was connected to a string of shootings, it emerged on Sunday. READ »

Fifth German body found on wrecked cruise ship

National: 29 Jan 12
The body of a fifth German victim has been recovered from the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, and identified as a woman from Baden-Württemberg, the police confirmed on Sunday. READ »

German held at elite ball protest 'had explosives'

Society: 28 Jan 12
A German man arrested while protesting against a right-wing elite student society ball in Vienna was carrying explosives, police said. READ »

Grenade disguised as toy left on supermarket shelf

National: 28 Jan 12
A hand grenade disguised as a toy and placed at child’s eye level on the shelf of a supermarket could have killed someone, say German prosecutors investigating it as an attempted murder. READ »

President 'can be called liar', loses public favour

Politics: 28 Jan 12
President Christian Wulff can be called a liar, a state prosecutor has ruled, dismissing complaints about a Green politician doing so. Wulff’s backing among the public is dwindling despite support from Chancellor Angela Merkel. READ »

German engineer kidnapped in Nigeria

National: 27 Jan 12
Gunmen on Thursday abducted a German engineer working with a construction company on the outskirts of the violence-hit Nigerian city of Kano, police said. READ »

Cop patrolled 22 years without driver's license

Society: 27 Jan 12
Criminal charges have been filed against a policeman in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt who allegedly drove patrol cars for more than 20 years without a proper driver's license, officials have revealed. READ »

Police officers killed in motorway crash

National: 27 Jan 12
Two police officers were killed in a horrific crash near Würzburg in northern Bavaria Thursday evening. Two more officers and one civilian were also injured. READ »

New tool unravels Stasi secret files

Science & Technology: 27 Jan 12
Germany's "puzzle people" will soon be able to count on a new tool in their Herculean task of re-piecing together thousands of ripped-up former Stasi secret police files. READ »

Cops allowed to film on Reeperbahn

National: 26 Jan 12
Germany’s Federal Administrative Court ruled Wednesday that police can film on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn red light district for crime prevention purposes, ending a legal dispute closely watched by privacy advocates. READ »

Man dismembered and cooked after sex games

National: 25 Jan 12
The dismembered, partially cooked corpse of a missing man has been found in a Berlin apartment, where prosecutors believe he was killed after a sex game spiralled out of control. READ »

Police pinch pug-pilfering pensioner

Society: 25 Jan 12
A 93-year-old Frankfurt lady was overjoyed to welcome home her pug Tuesday, after police found it in the home of a 74-year-old woman who had offered to take the dog for a walk. READ »

Kim Dotcom denied bail in New Zealand

Society: 25 Jan 12
Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom will stay behind bars awaiting possible extradition to the United States after a New Zealand judge Wednesday said the Internet millionaire poses a serious flight risk. READ »

Leftists suggest legal cannabis clubs

Politics: 25 Jan 12
Germany’s socialist Left party is calling an expert hearing on “legalizing cannabis through the introduction of cannabis clubs” in the German parliament on Wednesday. The idea has met widespread rejection. READ »

Cathedral usher caught stealing cash donations

Society: 23 Jan 12
An usher in Cologne’s famous Gothic cathedral is under investigation for stealing money from the collection boxes, possibly over several years. READ »

German 'spies' detained in Pakistan

National: 23 Jan 12
Three alleged German spies have been detained in Pakistan by police and released to German diplomats, according to media reports. READ »

12 cop cars burnt out

Society: 23 Jan 12
Twelve police cars were set on fire in the eastern German town of Magdeburg early Monday morning. While investigators suspect arson, the exact circumstances of the fire remain unclear. READ »

Megaupload founder had 'lavish' lifestyle

National: 23 Jan 12
Megaupload.com's German detained founder Monday denied wrongdoing after US authorities shut down his file-sharing website, as new details emerged of a rock-star life featuring "fast cars" and "hot girls." READ »

Cop facing divorce kills daughter then self

National: 22 Jan 12
A police commissioner in western Germany fatally shot his eight-year-old daughter before killing himself on Saturday, just two days after his wife told him she wanted a divorce. READ »

German victim on Italian shipwreck identified

National: 22 Jan 12
Italian authorities have identified a German man among the 12 bodies recovered from the Costa Concordia cruise ship which ran aground off the Tuscany coast on January 13. READ »

Protesters mount diggers in bid to save trees

National: 22 Jan 12
Demonstrators against the controversial "Stuttgart 21" rail project tried to block workers from felling more than 30 trees early on Sunday. Police removed protesters from trees and demolition equipment to allow teams to finish the work. READ »

Megaupload founder hid from cops in panic room

Society: 21 Jan 12
Police said Kim "Dotcom" Schmitz, the German founder of file-sharing site Megaupload, tried to avoid arrest for alleged major copyright infringement by locking himself inside a panic room in his New Zealand house. READ »

Costa passengers seek damages after wreck

National: 21 Jan 12
Five German passengers who were on the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship when it ran aground off the Tuscan coast are demanding thousands of euros in compensation. READ »

Wulff's ex-spokesman faces fresh allegations

National: 21 Jan 12
The former spokesman for embattled German President Christian Wulff has been hit with new accusations over alleged perks from an event manager. A new report claims Olaf Glaeseker was treated to free flights during his time as spokesman. READ »

30 vehicles ensnared in mass crash

National: 21 Jan 12
A huge pile-up on the A1 motorway near the town of Cloppenburg in northern Germany left 13 people injured on Friday, with the crash trapping several passengers inside their vehicles. READ »

North Korean envoy wriggles off hook

National: 20 Jan 12
The North Korean ambassador to Germany was caught poaching fish in a Berlin river this week – but waved away police who found him, and carried on with a grin, citing diplomatic immunity. READ »

'Trash baron' jailed for more than four years

National: 19 Jan 12
A former police officer turned businessman has been jailed for more than four years for ditching thousands of tonnes of dangerous garbage in dumps that he was being paid to decommission. READ »

Police raid president's ex-advisor's house

Politics: 19 Jan 12
Police have raided the home of President Christian Wulff’s former spokesman Olaf Glaeseker as well as the offices of an event manager who was closely connected to the president when he was state premier of Lower Saxony. READ »

Germans join internet blackout protest

Science & Technology: 18 Jan 12
German political and tech groups blacked out their websites on Wednesday, in support of protests against proposed American laws critics say could hamper the free exchange of information online. READ »

At least two Germans killed in Ethiopia attack

National: 18 Jan 12
At least two German tourists were killed on Tuesday in an attack on a group of foreigners visiting a remote part of Ethiopia, the German government confirmed on Wednesday. READ »

Man tells court it was dog who strangled wife

Society: 17 Jan 12
A German man suspected of strangling his wife has pointed the finger at the family dog instead, saying the Labrador could have smothered her to death by accident. READ »

Criminal found in attic after dramatic jail break

National: 16 Jan 12
German police launched and then called off a manhunt on Monday after a dangerous criminal sawed through the bars of his prison window and disappeared over the roof – only to be found hiding in an attic room. READ »

Merkel calls for more minority public servants

National: 16 Jan 12
Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for more police officers, fire fighters and teachers in Germany with foreign roots, saying integration works in two directions, in comments roundly criticised by opposition parties. READ »

Twelve Germans missing from cruise liner

National: 16 Jan 12
Twelve Germans are missing from the huge cruise liner which ran aground and partially sank off the Italian coast on Friday night, killing at least six passengers and leaving scores injured. READ »

Five siblings suspected of killing Kurdish woman

National: 15 Jan 12
Police in northern Germany think they have found the body of an 18-year-old Kurdish woman who had gone missing in November. The police suspect that the woman’s family abducted her because they disapproved of her relationship. READ »

Restored Stasi HQ opens doors to public

National: 14 Jan 12
More than two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall the former headquarters of East Germany’s feared secret police, the Stasi, has opened its doors to the public following an €11 million restoration project. READ »

Prosecutors confident of neo-Nazi terror case

National: 14 Jan 12
German prosecutors have said that they feel they have grounds for a prosecution against Beate Zschäpe in relation to their investigation into the NSU neo-Nazi terror cell. READ »

Stinky rubber boot fire puts 50 in hospital

Society: 13 Jan 12
Dozens of people had to go to hospital after a pile of rubber boots caught on fire and gave off noxious fumes in a warehouse in northern Germany. READ »

Man who shot prosecutor only faced mild sentence

National: 12 Jan 12
The businessman who shot dead a prosecutor in court in Bavaria, would have walked out a free man had he not fired a gun at the judge and then turned on the prosecutor. READ »

Internet users 'should check for blackout virus'

Science & Technology: 12 Jan 12
The German government says all internet users should check their computers for a virus which could stop them going online from March 8. READ »

Teacher in probe for 'making bombs with kids'

National: 11 Jan 12
A German teacher built pipe-bombs with his pupils, setting them off in front of the children who were not given ear or eye protection, according to allegations being investigated by public prosecutors. READ »

Football hooligans 'getting more violent'

Sport: 11 Jan 12
Violence at football matches in Germany’s top leagues has reached record highs, leaving police struggling to control it, the Interior Ministry said this week. READ »

Cologne is country's stalker capital

National: 11 Jan 12
Those who could not sleep after watching "Fatal Attraction" might want to avoid Cologne, where there are more reports of stalking than any other major German city, according to an analysis of police crime data. READ »

Jihadist killer deserves life say prosecutors

National: 9 Jan 12
A man who shot dead two American soldiers in Germany last March should go to jail for life, prosecutors demanded on Monday as a court heard closing arguments in his trial READ »

Police hacked after top cop rows with daughter

National: 9 Jan 12
A hacker attack which infiltrated Germany’s federal police computer system using Trojan programs and a system of routes via Russia last summer was due to a row about internet usage between a top cop and his daughter. READ »

Protesters say police used excessive force

National: 9 Jan 12
Organisers of a rally to remember an asylum seeker who died in police custody have complained after two people were injured during their demonstration in Dessau – including one man who was carried unconscious from the scene. READ »

Football tournament scrapped after fans riot

Sport: 7 Jan 12
The second day of a football tournament in Hamburg was canceled after violent clashes Friday resulted in numerous injuries and the arrest of 74 fans, organizers announced. READ »

Germany calls for PIP breast implant removal

National: 7 Jan 12
Germany and the Czech Republic have advised women to have potentially faulty breast implants made by French firm PIP removed, but Britain said it was not convinced of the need. READ »

Neo-Nazis may be behind 2003 murder attempt

National: 7 Jan 12
The neo-Nazi group previously accused of 10 murders between 2000 and 2007 may be responsible for the murder attempt of a Turkish-born restaurant owner in the industrial Ruhr area, authorities have said. READ »

Road accident turns into bizarre murder

Society: 6 Jan 12
Police investigating the death of a woman in a car accident were surprised when a man appeared later and confessed to killing his wife. He reportedly chased her down in his car and stabbed her. READ »

Cops shoot cat

Society: 6 Jan 12
Police officers shot dead a cat in the western German city of Wuppertal on Thursday, after it was brought to their police station apparently in pain. READ »

Retiree 'set fire to homeless man'

Society: 5 Jan 12
The trial of a pensioner who allegedly set a homeless man on fire in July began Thursday in the western German town of Essen. The homeless man died from severe burns. READ »

Berlin attack may be work of Kurdish terrorists

National: 5 Jan 12
Police believe a Molotov cocktail attack on a Turkish cultural association Tuesday evening may have been the work of a terrorist group banned from Germany and the European Union. READ »

Six arrests after suspected drug deal goes wrong

Society: 4 Jan 12
One person was shot, four injured and six arrested in a Berlin fight over an apparent drug deal gone wrong Tuesday. All those involved have refused to talk about the deal that appears to have sparked the fight. READ »

Political foundation office re-opens in Cairo

National: 4 Jan 12
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation office in Cairo, the German political party foundation branch raided by Egyptian authorities at the end of December, has been allowed to re-open, the organization announced Tuesday. READ »

Faeces-filled flat cleared by authorities

Society: 4 Jan 12
A German court ruled Tuesday that the police were within their rights to clear out a man’s home whose floor was covered with animal faeces and food remains. The man lived with 150 free-roaming rabbits. READ »

Randy cop sentenced for half-price brothel bribe

Society: 3 Jan 12
A policeman has received a two-year suspended sentence and a €3,000 fine in the eastern German state of Brandenburg for accepting a 50-percent rebate in an illegal brothel in exchange for police information. READ »

German arson suspect arrested in Los Angeles

Society: 3 Jan 12
A 24-year-old German has been arrested in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, suspected of setting fire to 52 cars in a four-day period over the New Year, mirroring similar attacks in Berlin. READ »

Teachers 'need help to fight youth extremism'

Education: 2 Jan 12
Attempts to prevent young Germans from getting into right-wing extremism are failing because of poor coordination and sporadic financing say experts. READ »

Polish ambassador: too easy to nick German cars

Society: 2 Jan 12
Poland’s ambassador to Germany says it is too easy to steal German cars – and this is why so many of them end up across the border in his country. READ »

Man stabs dog to death after row with wife

Society: 1 Jan 12
A 39-year-old man stabbed his own dog to death after a fight with his wife on New Year's Eve, police reported Sunday. READ »

Man kills himself with illegal firework

Society: 1 Jan 12
A 27-year-old man apparently killed himself with a homemade firework early Sunday morning in the Swabian Alps region of south-western Germany. READ »

Autobahn crash kills one, injures three

National: 31 Dec 11
A man was killed and several other people severely injured in a car smash on the motorway near Wuppertal early Saturday morning. READ »

German fury at raids on groups in Cairo

Politics: 30 Dec 11
Germany has demanded that non-political organizations working in Egypt including the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation, be allowed to continue their work unhindered – after police raided the offices of 17 such groups in Cairo. READ »

Two arrested in hunt for cop killers

National: 29 Dec 11
Police have arrested two men suspected of shooting dead a policeman and injuring another after dramatic chase through the woods in Bavaria two months ago, they announced on Thursday. READ »

Berlin politician attacked in own home

Politics: 28 Dec 11
A Berlin local politician active in the Syrian opposition was attacked by two men in his home, police said Tuesday, in a case the German foreign ministry said it was following closely. READ »

The Local's top five animal stories of 2011

Lifestyle: 28 Dec 11
Animals are always amusing, with their funny wet noses and their general gullibility, and no-one loves animal celebrities as much as the Germans, so we collected the year's big animal stories. What was that bear called again? READ »

Historian wants ban on communist uniforms

Society: 27 Dec 11
A prominent historian of communist East Germany and its Stasi secret police has called for a ban on the public display of communist era uniforms or insignia. READ »

Government divided over phone data law

National: 27 Dec 11
The German government is riven over whether telecom companies should be allowed to keep customers' data indefinitely. Critics say easier police access to data could have helped solve recently-revealed Neo-nazi murders. READ »

Girl missing after cliff fall

Society: 27 Dec 11
Rescue workers are searching for a 10-year-old girl who is missing after a large piece of chalk cliff slipped into the Baltic Sea from the German island of Rügen on Monday. READ »

The Local’s top five offbeat stories of 2011

Lifestyle: 27 Dec 11
After a huge year for dramatic news, The Local has collected together five stories from our 2011 ‘Offbeat’ archive that may have slipped through your news filter. READ »

Thousands missing over the holidays

Society: 26 Dec 11
More than 5,000 people – and nearly 2,000 children – are registered with authorities as missing nationwide, according to statistics released on Monday. READ »

House explodes while family on holiday

National: 26 Dec 11
A family from North Rhine-Westphalia will come home from their Christmas holiday to find their house exploded while they were away, leaving nothing but a big pile of rubble. READ »

Hundreds of animals die in morning farm fire

National: 25 Dec 11
At least 600 pigs and 10 cows were killed in a farm fire on Christmas Day morning, police in Upper Bavaria said. READ »

Police: Dead baby may have been slain

National: 25 Dec 11
A dead baby found wrapped in towels on the ground in a garage might have been murdered, and could even have been thrown out of a passing train, detectives in Potsdam say. READ »

Man calls police over 'rubbish' presents

Society: 24 Dec 11
A novel way to deliver Christmas presents backfired on Friday night, when a man called the police after having a bin bag flung onto his balcony. READ »

Gunman on the run after family fight

Society: 24 Dec 11
A young man was apparently shot and stabbed by his girlfriend's uncle following a family argument on Friday afternoon in the southern German town of Heilbronn. READ »

'Tis the season for severe traffic jams

National: 23 Dec 11
Motorists association ADAC has warned of serious traffic jams that could cause hundreds of kilometres of tailbacks on Friday and into Saturday as Germans begin their Christmas holidays. READ »

German Patriot missiles impounded in Finland

National: 22 Dec 11
Finnish customs authorities have impounded 69 Patriot missiles and 150 tonnes of explosives from a ship loaded in Germany. German officials say the shipment was a legal sale to South Korea, but the ship was not licensed for the cargo. READ »

Officials investigate more football violence

Sport: 21 Dec 11
The German Football Association (DFB) said Wednesday it will investigate Bundesliga strugglers Nuremberg following the violent incidents which followed a 1-0 German Cup defeat at home to Greuther Fürth. READ »

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