Man dies after police use Taser

A so-called taser was used against the man during the deadly police operation in Dortmund on Wednesday morning. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Recklinghausen police headquarters of the German Press Agency on request. "I can confirm that a distance electrocution device was used," she said. She did not want to give any further information about the person, the course of the mission and the background. "We're investigating with high pressure."

For reasons of neutrality, the officers from neighboring Recklinghausen took over the investigations into the Dortmund case. Dortmund is responsible for the public prosecutor's office. "We are in close coordination," said the police spokeswoman.

According to the information, the man had previously rioted. The police were called to the Dorstfeld district around 4:30 a.m. In the course of the operation, the man collapsed, the officials and later an emergency doctor began resuscitation measures. The man was found dead in the hospital shortly afterwards.

It was initially unclear whether the use of the distance electric impulse device (DEIG) was linked to the death of the man. The stun gun was also a major topic of discussion during the coalition negotiations in North Rhine-Westphalia. The CDU and the Greens agreed to continue testing the devices until 2024 and to connect them to a body cam.

For the Dortmund police, it is the second fatal operation within a few weeks. On August 8, a 16-year-old refugee from Senegal was shot dead by a police officer in Dortmund. In this case, the public prosecutor's office is investigating five officers.

According to the state of the investigation known so far, an officer is said to have shot the youth six times with a submachine gun. The 16-year-old died in hospital after being hit by four projectiles. The critical question is whether and how the youth approached the officers with a knife.