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NRW Minister Confirms No Bodycam Footage in Police Shooting of Deaf 12-Year-Old in Bochum

Officials cite NRW rules requiring a perceived threat to record bodycam video in homes.

Overview

  • The girl was shot in the abdomen during a night-time visit on November 17 and was taken to hospital with initially life-threatening injuries.
  • Police and prosecutors say the officer fired only after the child stood directly before officers holding two knives.
  • Four officers went to the mother's apartment to secure access to essential medication after the girl, missing from a Münster residential group, apparently arrived there.
  • Both the girl and her mother are deaf, no sign-language interpreter was present, and investigators will examine how communication occurred.
  • Bodycams in North Rhine-Westphalia must be manually activated and, in private residences, require a perceived threat, and the public prosecutor is reviewing the officers' actions and procedures.