A 12-year-old deaf girl was critically injured by a police bullet during an operation in Bochum. North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul explained the absence of bodycam footage. The incident raises questions about communication with deaf individuals.
In the night leading to November 17, a police operation took place in Bochum where a 12-year-old deaf girl was shot in the stomach and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The officers had gone there because the girl was reported missing from her group home in Münster and had traveled to her mother in Bochum. She requires life-essential medications, prompting four police officers to respond in the middle of the night to ensure she could access them.
The shot was fired when the 12-year-old was standing directly in front of the officers holding two knives, as emphasized by police and prosecutors. Shortly before, the mother had been handcuffed. Investigators believe the girl had attacked the officers prior to the shooting.
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) told the »Rheinische Post« in an interview: »There are no bodycam recordings in this case.« He explained: »The police entered this operation to enable the girl access to her medications. There was no reason to assume an imminent danger. That is, however, a prerequisite for using bodycams in apartments.«
Bodycams are standard equipment for police in North Rhine-Westphalia but must be manually activated. The operation was particularly challenging since both the girl and her mother are deaf. No sign language interpreter was present, and communication is currently under investigation.
The incident has left many questions unanswered, including the exact sequence of events and the evaluation of the operation.