Tennessee Eisenberg

Tennessee Noel Llewellyn Eisenberg (born November 23, 1984 , † April 30, 2009 in Regensburg ) was a German vocational school student . After an argument with his roommate in a shared apartment in Regensburg, Eisenberg was shot dead when he confronted police officers with a knife. A total of 16 shots are said to have been fired at Eisenberg, twelve of which hit, seven of them in the back. An indictment of manslaughter against the officers involved, particularly demanded by the relatives , did not come about because the public prosecutor's office saw self-defense or emergency aid . Politicians and the Regensburg police came under criticism for their actions and the subsequent investigations.

Life

education

Tennessee Eisenberg was born in 1984 to Mahdy Celem and Renate Eisenberg. After the birth of his half-brother, his mother moved with her partner and two children several times and finally settled in Abensberg in the Kelheim district. At the time of his death, Eisenberg was in training at the vocational school for pop, rock and jazz music college in Regensburg, where he lived.

death

On April 30, 2009, Eisenberg and his roommate had an argument in the hallway of their shared apartment in the Steinweg district . According to him, Eisenberg talked confused, trembled and said that he was in a "blood frenzy". According to the public prosecutor's office, he struck his roommate several times with a kitchen knife with an 18 cm blade, but without hitting him. The roommate was able to flee and alerted the police from a tanning salon with the statement that Eisenberg wanted to "stab him" and threatened to kill himself. The police then drove a total of four vehicles to Eisenberg's apartment. Three officers first knocked and rang the doorbell, whereupon Eisenberg stepped out with a knife and threatened the police officers.

After they warned him that they would use their firearms if necessary, Eisenberg replied: "Yes, shoot me then!" And "Then shoot me!". After the use of both pepper spray and baton had no effect, the police officers backed away from the stairs into the hallway, where Eisenberg finally pushed one of the officers into a corner. The other police officers then fired a warning shot in the wall and finally opened fire on Eisenberg from behind. They fired several shots at him, one of which pierced Eisenberg's knee, but the latter showed no reaction. Instead, with knife in hand, he finally turned to the police behind him, who shot him. All police officers then came from the hallway into the forecourt - with the exception of the police officer who had previously been harassed by Eisenberg and one of the shooters. The shooter fired more shots in Eisenberg's upper body and the previously harassed officer was able to flee into the courtyard. However, he lost his holster with a pistol. The front door fell into the lock behind the fleeing officer. Since the shooter, who was now alone, feared that Eisenberg might seize the weapon, he shot Eisenberg from a distance of about one meter, whereupon Eisenberg collapsed. A total of 16 shots are said to have been fired at Eisenberg, twelve of which hit, seven of them in the back.

Eisenberg was then taken to the Barmherzige Brüder hospital by the emergency doctor who was present , where he succumbed to his gunshot wounds an hour later. On September 12, 2009, Eisenberg's urn was buried in a cemetery in Rieneck .

Investigations

Preliminary investigation

The Chief Public Prosecutor Günther Ruckdäschel initially spoke of a "self-defense or emergency aid situation" from which the officers acted. Eisenberg's family doubted this version.

Thomas Tesseraux, one of the Eisenberg family's lawyers, commented on the events as follows:

“I think that the mission itself was relatively uncoordinated. That one had hardly thought at all about the problem that was underlying that he was no longer himself that day and was in an exceptional psychological situation, and that one reacted to it; and that with the access even with these many shots, something went wrong, colloquially expressed. "

An expert report by the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster , financed by donations to the family, showed that Eisenberg had received "a shot in the knee joint and a bullet in the humerus, a bullet in the lungs and other hits on the extremities" before he was shot four times fatally Met chest. Seven shots hit the victim from the left behind. Traces of pepper spray were found on Eisenberg's clothes, but not on his face. There was also no reddening of the eyes, which could indicate insufficient use of the spray. Alcohol or other drugs were not found in Eisenberg's body either, but the report stated that Eisenberg was in an exceptional psychological situation and that the gunshot wounds did not initially lead to an incapacity to act. The lawyers of the bereaved argued that Eisenberg with such serious injuries could no longer pose a threat to the officers, but the fatal shots were fired in the chest. The report also mentioned blood splatters near the front door, which, according to Helmut von Kietzell, lawyer for the relatives, spoke against the fact that Eisenberg was shot in a self-defense situation.

The public prosecutor's office, however, found that the report confirmed the reports of the State Criminal Police Office, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the University of Erlangen on essential points. She took the view that, according to the Münster report, it was "with high probability" that pepper spray was used against the face, that all of the shots hit Eisenberg in an upright posture and that the first shots fired consistently went down. In addition, the public prosecutor's office insisted that Eisenberg had approached the police officers despite serious injuries and only stood 1 to 1.7 meters away when the last shots were fired, but announced that the report would be examined. The public prosecutor later announced that the relatives' report also stated that the different results of the reconstruction of the positions were irrelevant for the overall view of the course of the crime. The police officers involved had not commented on the course of the crime.

On October 20, 2009, the Regensburg public prosecutor informed the family of an assessment of the private report by the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office . This came to a different conclusion, according to which the blood splatters occurred when Eisenberg was removed from the house. The family's lawyers questioned this, in their opinion no injured person with a pulsating wound would be transported and stated after a reconstruction of the crime initiated by the prosecutor on December 1, 2009 that they had meanwhile been charged with manslaughter or assault against two of the the officials involved as justified.

At the beginning of November 2009, Der Spiegel reported that one of the police officers involved in the operation had stated in a testimony that the shooting at Eisenberg was not a matter of self-defense. According to his account, the police could not have stopped Eisenberg with baton and pepper spray, whereupon the first shots were fired. Further, ultimately presumably fatal shots hit Eisenberg only when there was no longer any danger for the police officers. The public prosecutor later stated that Eisenberg would have been able to at least seriously injure the police officer within a fraction of a second, despite limited mobility. In addition, one of the police officers lost his weapon within Eisenberg's reach. The shooter, who was alone in the stairwell at the time, had the impression that Eisenberg had noticed this. At the same time, a man from North Rhine-Westphalia filed a criminal complaint against the two police chiefs with the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office and linked them with the request to withdraw the investigation from the Regensburg public prosecutor's office. He justified this with the fear that the Regensburg public prosecutor might cover up something in the case.

On December 21, 2009, the public prosecutor found that there was insufficient cause for a charge to be brought. The use of firearms was required and thus justified, since, according to the information provided by the police, there was "at least the suspicion of a threat offense". In particular, the public prosecutor stated that the threatened police officer could not escape due to the narrow and crowded staircase.

According to the President of the Upper Palatinate Police Headquarters, the officers involved are emotionally deeply affected by the "hostility" and there is a risk of trauma . The officials should have been looked after intensively that the proceedings were delayed, he described as "subordination".

Complaints procedure

In January 2010, the family's lawyers lodged a complaint with the General Public Prosecutor's Office at the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court , as the prosecution's investigations had been one-sided. He is accused of having "completely ignored" both the "results of the ballistic investigation" and individual witness statements. It is unusual that incriminating evidence and testimony are neglected and that the "public prosecutor's office only follows the defendant's statements". The chief public prosecutor stated that based on the principle of In dubio pro reo, there were no contradictions in the course of events. The complaint was rejected by the Nuremberg Public Prosecutor's Office on March 26, 2010.

Compulsory Lawsuit Procedure

As a next step, the lawyers therefore carried out an enforcement procedure . A corresponding application was made in a brief dated April 26, 2010. By order of October 19, 2010, the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court rejected the application, as there was no sufficient reason to bring a public complaint.

Constitutional complaint

A constitutional complaint by Eisenberg's parents against the decision of the Higher Regional Court was not accepted for decision by the Federal Constitutional Court on June 26, 2014 (2 BvR 2699/10). However, the Federal Constitutional Court established the basic right to prosecute third parties for the first time . The 1st Chamber of the Second Senate, however, judged in the specific case that the Higher Regional Court had dealt in detail with the results of the investigation. Neither incomplete nor tendentious investigations aimed at sparing the accused officials were identified.

Political reactions

Both the Eisenbergs and the media criticized the fact that politicians reacted only hesitantly and kept a low profile on the case. Protest also aroused the fact that the police initially did not take any personal consequences. The officials involved were only transferred from regular service to office work at the end of July under public pressure, but without further explanation. However, the spokesman for the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, Oliver Platzer, explicitly stated that this was not a prejudice, but a "welfare measure". The German Police Union , however, spoke of a “punitive transfer” and “public agitation against the Regensburg police” on the part of the relatives, which Interior Minister Herrmann had given in.

Logo of the initiative 12 balls - 12 questions on a house wall in Regensburg.

In the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Annette Ramelsberger blamed politics for the fact that the investigation was progressing so slowly:

“In Berlin, demonstrators would have marched through the streets, the Interior Senator would have had to justify himself in the investigative committee. There would have been a riot. In Bavaria, however, it remained strangely quiet - to this day. Except for a few banners with the inscription "12 shots - 12 questions" that students in Regensburg hung out of the windows, nothing happened. "

- Annette Ramelsberger, Süddeutsche Zeitung

Neither the CSU nor the other parties in the Bavarian state parliament had shown any particular interest in the Eisenberg case, said Ramelsberger, although Interior Minister Herrmann had announced a quick clarification.

The chairman of the Bavarian FDP , Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger , promised after the second report that she would follow up the case together with the Ministry of Interior and Justice, but pointed out that politics could not and should not interfere in individual judicial matters. Beate Merk (CSU), the Bavarian Minister of Justice , assured that politicians were taking the case seriously. The MPs Susanna Tausendfreund ( Greens ) and Margit Wild ( SPD ), on the other hand, criticized the previous investigations. Tausendfreund announced a parliamentary catalog of questions and asked the Free State of Bavaria to cover the costs for the second report. Wild, on the other hand, saw the police overwhelmed and said they wanted to discuss deficits in the education and training of officials in the state parliament. At a subsequent meeting of the Interior Committee, the CSU and FDP joined the Bavarian opposition's demand for a renewed statement from the Interior Ministry. On April 21, 2010, Minister of the Interior Herrmann admitted tactical errors to the State Parliament's Interior Committee, as there was no head of operations on site. At the same time, he stated that even a psychologist could not have prevented the rapid escalation and that there was "undoubtedly" a self-defense situation. Herrmann ultimately attributes the death to "unfortunate circumstances", in particular Eisenberg's irritating behavior and the narrow stairwell. As a consequence of the incident, he announced that he would examine the use of electro-pulse weapons.

In Human Rights Report 2009, a report on the worldwide observance of human rights , which the United States Department of State annually for the Congress created the incident is listed as a possible violation of the right to life. The report briefly describes the positions of the public prosecutor and the Eisenberg family, without adopting any of the positions.

reception

In November 2009, around 500 people demonstrated in front of the Regensburg judicial building, demanding an end to the public prosecutor's “sham investigations” and the opening of legal proceedings.

Michael Lissek produced an hour-long radio feature on the incident entitled The Death of Tennessee Eisenberg. Or: Ben's list . In conversation with Eisenberg's companions, he also discusses his past: he was sensitive, calm and spiritual, but grew up in a precarious family situation. He also had contacts with Ramtha's School of Enlightenment and had psychological problems. He accused the police of attempts to have manipulated the representation of the events, but also expressed doubts about the statements and the credibility of the Eisenberg family and did not come to a clear conclusion.

When strong beer tapping 2010 on the Nockherberg criticized Michael Lerchenberg in the role of Brother Barnabas the Bavarian police and mentioned the possibility the case Eisenberg with the words "If twelve times shooting in Regensburg two called police to a mental patients, of which four weft as once when Jenner wine of at the back, then it is determined very slowly - if at all! "

Every year around the anniversary of Eisenberg's death, demonstrations have been taking place in Regensburg since 2010 (most recently on the last Sunday in April 2014), at which the seemingly biased behavior of the authorities and, in particular, the attitude of the investigation is criticized again and again.

The Regensburg Student Theater also took up criticism of the events in connection with Eisenberg's death with the performance of twelve to zero .

Web links

• The Tennessee Eisenberg case . Spiegel Online Panorama
• Henning Ernst Müller : Tennessee Eisenberg case - enforcement of lawsuits apparently failed , Beck blog

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d e f g h} Public Prosecutor Regensburg: Declaration by the Public Prosecutor's Office . regensburg-digital . December 21, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
2. ↑ Michael Lissek: The Death of Tennessee Eisenberg. Or: Ben's list. SWR2, March 2010.
3. ↑ Steinweg's fatal shots: The brother collects money for lawsuit  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   Mittelbayerische.de, May 10, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
4. ↑ Jörg Diehl: Death in the Staircase In: SPIEGEL Online , July 14, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Twelve police balls, seven from behind In: taz.de , July 22, 2009. Accessed on September 18, 2009.
6. ↑ Death of a student: Hit by twelve police bullets Spiegel TV , September 11, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Expert opinion questions self-defense version of the police SPIEGEL Online, September 17, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
8. ↑ ^{a b c} Regensburg digital statement of the public prosecutor's office
9. ↑ ^{a b c} Annette Ramelsberger: A death that leaves politics cold ( Memento of the original from September 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 18, 2009.
10. ↑ Press release of October 29, 2009 ( Memento of the original of November 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Retrieved November 9, 2009 
11. ^ Eisenberg lawyer: It wasn't self-defense , Mittelbayerische Zeitung, accessed on December 2, 2009
12. ↑ Thick blood splatters . In: Der Spiegel . No. 46 , 2009, p. 16 ( online - November 9, 2009 ).
13. ↑ The Tennessee case continues to cause speculation.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   Radio Charivari, November 9, 2009. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
14. ↑ Case Tennessee Eisenberg: Police officers do not have to answer for fatal shots . Mirror online. December 21, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
15. ^ ^{A b} Josef Pöllmann and Frank Betthausen: Eisenberg case: anger and disappointment . Central Bavarian Newspaper . June 4, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
16. ↑ Press release on the grounds of the complaint (PDF; 25 kB) February 25, 2010. Accessed March 7, 2010.
17. ↑ Stefan Aigner: "Scandal" Eisenberg: Lawyers justify complaint . February 25, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
18. ↑ Stefan Aigner: Recommendations, individual cases and hostility - Police President Kraus on the "Eisenberg case" . Regensburg digital. June 15, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
19. ^ Eisenberg case: termination of the proceedings confirmed . March 26, 2010. Accessed on March 26, 2010.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
20. ^ Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg: No indictment against police officers in the Tennessee Eisenberg case . October 21, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
21. ^ Order of the Federal Constitutional Court of June 26, 2014, Az. 2 BvR 2699/10
22. ^ Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg: Federal Constitutional Court confirms decision of the Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg in the Tennessee Eisenberg case , press release 17/14 of July 15, 2014
23. ↑ Police officers transferred to office work. In: SPIEGEL Online, July 24, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
24. ↑ Max Hägler: "It gives me food for thought" ( Memento of the original from January 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 19, 2009.
25. ↑ State Parliament demands clarity in the Eisenberg case sueddeutsche.de, October 8, 2009. Accessed October 9, 2009.
26. ↑ Katja Auer: The Tennessee Eisenberg case: Shock instead of shooting . Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 28, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
27. ↑ Jürgen Umlauft: Interior Minister Herrmann reprimands leadership . Frankenpost . April 22, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
28. ↑ 2009 Human Rights Report: Germany . United States Department of State , Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010 .; German transl. Country reports on human rights practices - 2009 ( Memento of the original from March 14, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
29. ^ S. Aigner: Eisenberg: "Sitting out has failed as a tactic" . regensburg-digital.de. November 14, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
30. ↑ ^{a b} Stefan Aigner: Intensive look at a judicial scandal . Regensburg digital. March 4, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
31. ↑ N. job, AK Koophamel: Nockherberg: The Mallet's speech . Evening newspaper . March 4, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
32. ↑ B. Haslbeck: Twelve balls, twelve questions . Regensburg digital. April 29, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
33. ^ Commemoration of Tennessee Eisenberg in: Mittelbayerische Zeitung of April 29, 2013
34. ^ V. Lintner: A balancing act between politics, piety and punch line . Central Bavarian Newspaper . May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.