{"id":4796,"date":"2025-04-28T21:48:55","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T21:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/german-police-killing-of-black-man-lorenz-a-outside-oldenburg-nightclub-sparks-protests\/"},"modified":"2025-04-28T21:48:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T21:48:56","slug":"german-police-killing-of-black-man-lorenz-a-outside-oldenburg-nightclub-sparks-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/german-police-killing-of-black-man-lorenz-a-outside-oldenburg-nightclub-sparks-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"German police killing of Black man Lorenz A. outside Oldenburg nightclub sparks protests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Berlin<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Civil rights activists are demanding an independent investigation after a Black man was fatally shot by police last week outside a nightclub in northwest Germany. The killing sparked nationwide protests and raised concerns about what some believe is systemic racism within Germany’s law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n

The victim, identified as 21-year-old Lorenz A., was shot multiple times from behind by a 27-year-old police officer in the city of Oldenburg. According to prosecutors, an autopsy found that Lorenz A. was struck in the back of the head, torso and hip. A fourth bullet reportedly grazed his thigh. He died in a local hospital of the gunshot wounds.<\/p>\n

Authorities said Lorenz A. had threatened nightclub bouncers with pepper spray and a knife after being denied entry. When confronted by police, they said he again used pepper spray in a “threatening manner.”<\/p>\n

By Monday, however, prosecutors said preliminary evidence including security camera video and witness reports provided no indication that Lorenz A. had threatened officers with a knife at the time he was shot.<\/p>\n

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People gather to pay tribute to a 21-year-old Black man named Lorenz A. who was killed by German police, April 25, 2025, in Oldenburg, Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hesham Elsherif\/Anadolu\/Getty<\/p>\n

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The involved officers’ body cameras were turned off, the police have said. There is no legal obligation for police in Germany to have their body cameras turned on during operations; it is at their discretion.<\/p>\n

The shooting has sparked anger across Germany, with more than 10,000 demonstrators gathering at a “Justice for Lorenz” rally in Oldenburg on Friday. Vigils were also planned in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and in Vienna in neighboring Austria.<\/p>\n

Rights groups including Amnesty International and the Black People in Germany Initiative (ISD), have demanded an independent inquiry, arguing that internal police investigations are inherently biased.<\/p>\n

“This killing impacts not just Lorenz’s family, but all people affected by racism in Germany,” Amnesty International\u00a0said<\/a> in a statement.<\/p>\n

The campaign groups are also pushing for police officers to be compelled to turn their body cameras on during operations involving weapons.<\/p>\n

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People gather to pay tribute to a 21 year old black man named Lorenz A. who was killed by German police, April 25, 2025 in Oldenburg, Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hesham Elsherif\/Anadolu\/Getty<\/p>\n

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The incident echoes cases of police violence in the United States, where the 2020 murder of George Floyd<\/a><\/span> by an officer in Minnesota sparked a surge in protests against what many see as systemic racism in law enforcement and police brutality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just as American activists have pushed for independent oversight and systemic reform<\/a><\/span>, German groups are now calling for the establishment of a national office to investigate allegations of police misconduct.<\/p>\n

The case has also drawn comparisons to the death of Oury Jalloh, an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone who died under suspicious circumstances in a German police holding cell in 2005, after being set on fire while handcuffed. That case has remained a symbol of alleged institutional racism and impunity within German police forces for two decades.<\/p>\n

Despite Germany’s relatively low rates of officer-involved shootings (which was long around 10 per year) the number has risen sharply, with 22 deaths\u00a0recorded last year<\/a> alone.<\/p>\n

A 2024\u00a0study found<\/a> that nearly a third of German police officers reported having overheard racist comments from colleagues, highlighting what many consider a broader cultural problem.<\/p>\n

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