Four suspects, all Polish nationals, have been arrested in the murder of a 32-year-old police officer in the German state of Brandenburg who was conducting an operation against car thieves.
The main suspect, who is accused of murder, is a 37-year-old Pole and is expected to appear before a judge today. He is suspected of driving a “pilot” vehicle, which drives ahead of a stolen vehicle and warns his team of thieves that the police are operating in the area. The operation was being conducted near Lauchhammer close to the border of Saxony. The officer belonged to the police force of Saxony.
“According to the current state of the investigation, the accused hit the police officer with a car as he got out of his vehicle and headed towards the trunk of his car,” the Brandenburg police noted in a statement posted to their website. The officer was apparently heading to the trunk of his vehicle to lay out a “nail barrier” to blow out the tires of one of the fleeing vehicles when the Polish suspect swerved his car at the officer, killing him, according to German news outlet FAZ.
The Poles were allegedly split between two cars, with one of the vehicles stolen. After a police chase, the Poles were taken into custody.
“Three other Polish suspects aged 36 and 37 are being investigated for commercial gang-related receipt of stolen goods, commercial gang-related theft and other crimes. All of them have been provisionally arrested,” the public prosecutor’s office stated regarding the other suspects in the case.
The officer leaves behind a daughter. In response to the vehicular homicide of the German officer, all Brandenburg and Saxony emergency vehicles were decorated with black ribbons. In both German states, flags flew at half-mast.
The murdered police officer has been on the force since 2018 and was part of an investigation team that targeted Polish car thieves, which are especially active in Brandenburg.
It has proven a deadly and dangerous time for German police officers, with an Islamist maniac stabbing one to death in 2024 in Mannheim, in an incident that was caught on video.
