Overview

• A preliminary report delivered July 4 by the Rheinland-Pfalz Interior Ministry concludes that former Ahrweiler district chief Jürgen Pföhler gravely violated civil service duties during the July 2021 flood.
• The ministry intends to file formal disciplinary charges seeking to revoke Pföhler’s pension and has provisionally withheld one-third of his monthly retirement benefits.
• The administrative probe resumed in April 2024 after Koblenz prosecutors dropped criminal charges for lack of evidence under a higher standard.
• Pföhler is currently being heard in the proceedings while his legal team challenges the ministry’s procedures and the validity of the findings.
• Families of flood victims and local communities have criticized delayed emergency declarations and call for accountability in disaster management oversight.