Five German police officers went on trial on Thursday on criminal charges for allegedly severely beating a 59-year-old man during a police operation in Cologne in 2021.
The accused policemen, who range in age from 25 to 42, allegedly threw the man to the ground and surrounded him after he got in a verbal altercation with two of the accused officers.
According to prosecutors, "instead of intervening in a de-escalating manner or leaving," the five officers took the man's head into a hold, threw him to the ground, restrained him and kicked him. The victim's head was also knocked against a post.
The man suffered broken ribs and a laceration to his head. He died two months later, but prosecutors apparently determined that his death was not directly related to the beating.
Two of the ex-policemen are also facing criminal charges of having written a false report following the incident in which they wrongly accused the victim of resisting law enforcement, insulting officers and making threats.
The trial is expected to last until the end of November.
