Richard Epple

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Richard Epple (born August 2, 1954 in Breitenholz , Tübingen district , † March 1, 1972 in Herrenberg - Affstätt ) was mistakenly mistaken for an RAF terrorist by the police and shot in the course of a chase .

The 17-year-old apprentice , who did not have a driver's license and was under the influence of alcohol , drove a Ford Taunus 12M on the Wilhelmstrasse in Tübingen on the evening of March 1, 1972 . He fell on a police patrol because of an administrative offense : one of his indicators was defective. The patrol asked Epple to stop, but he accelerated and tried to escape. This was followed by a chase through Tübingen and over the federal road 28 in the direction of Herrenberg , during which Epple repeatedly pushed away the police vehicle and endangered oncoming traffic. On the way, a Herrenberg police patrol took over the pursuit. Epple's car broke two roadblocks. The Herrenberg police had set up a road block at the entrance to the village. Epple broke this and endangered a police officer.

Epple drove on in the direction of Calw. The police officers were given permission to use firearms by radio. A young police officer then fired in the direction of the getaway vehicle, but caused no reaction. He then shot with a Beretta - machine gun on the car. Epple was fatally hit through the rear window of his car. In the Kuppinger Straße in the Herrenberg district of Affstätt , the car came to a stop at the restaurant Die Linde and Epple was instantly dead.

Epplehaus in Tübingen, 2019

Shortly afterwards his brother Erich Epple and his teacher Georg Bahlinger arrived there. Bahlinger was asked to identify the deceased, while Erich Epple, who was almost 20 at the time, was charged with reporting the death of his brother to his mother Maria Epple.

Police officers later testified that they mistook Epple for a member of the Red Army faction because of his ruthless escape . The young police officer responsible for the fatal shots committed suicide a few years later.

As in similar incidents, the press of the radical left used Epple's death as an opportunity to blame the state organs and the press that supports the state organs with responsibility for the escalation of violence. In view of a number of comparable cases, Epple's death was the result of an attempt to generate mass hysteria and incite the population and the police.

A commission of inquiry that was set up came to the conclusion that the behavior of the officials was proportionate under the circumstances.

Commemoration

In Tübingen, demonstrations and protests against police violence followed in the period after Epple's death. A "Richard Epple Solidarity Committee" was formed to collect donations for the funeral.

After the Schwabenhaus youth center in Tübingen had burned down under unexplained circumstances in April 1972 and Tübingen youths had unsuccessfully requested a new youth center, a house in Karlstrasse was opened in June 1972 after a concert by the Ton Steine ​​Scherben band . 13 occupied. This house, which still exists today as a self-governing youth center, was named " Epplehaus " in memory of Richard Epple .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Tragic end of a car chase . In: Gäubote . ( gaeubote.de [accessed on August 22, 2017]).
  2. ↑ a b Topic of the week: Richard Epple: The story of Richard Epple, who was shot on the run on March 1, 1972. in the Schwäbisches Tagblatt , March 1, 2002.
  3. ↑ Richard Epple . In: Schwäbisches Tagblatt online . ( tagblatt.de [accessed on August 22, 2017]).
  4. ↑ Jürgen Schröder, Berlin: Herrenberg - The shooting of Richard Epple on March 1, 1972 - materials for analyzing opposition. June 14, 2012, accessed August 22, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Epplehaus | Jugendzentrum eV Accessed on August 22, 2017 (German).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Epple, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German victim of the RAF hysteria
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd August 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Ammerbuch-Breitenholz , Tübingen district
DATE OF DEATH March 1, 1972
Place of death Herrenberg - Affstätt