Cop accused of dumping oil on climate protester blocking road
A police officer in Germany was accused of dumping oil on a radical climate protester accused of blocking the road and the matter is currently being investigated for potential disciplinary action.
The climate activists from Letzte Generation (“Last Generation”) glued their hands to the Konrad-Adenauer Bridge in Manheim, Germany, on Sept. 3.
The climate activists made allegations that some in the group were intentionally doused with oil, and provided a video showing at least one instance where a police officer holding a container of oil spilled it on one of the activists, who wear orange vests in their protests.
The alleged oil was used to separate the activists’ hands from the pavement.
The tactic of gluing their hand to the road has been used by climate activists to raise awareness of climate change.
One activist said the officer dumped so much oil on her arm that she ended up sitting in a pool of it on the road.
Another activist says the officer spilled oil on his pants.
“We are all part of the last generation who still has the chance to stop the complete ecological collapse of Earth, regardless of whether we want it or not,” the Letzte Generation said. “We come together and offer resolute non-violent resistance to the fossil-fuel madness happening in our present. We are society’s will to survive! We still have two to three years in which we can divert from the path of the fossil-fuel led annihilation.”
According to the British newspaper The Express, “Ralf Kusterer, the head of the German police union in Baden-Württemberg, emphasised that if there is any misconduct by police officers, they must be held accountable, regardless of public sentiment. The allegations have sparked concerns about potential police brutality and overreach.”
The protesters have been staging frequent protests in Germany, causing major delays on highways and roads, and it has tested the public’s patience.
An August incident in Munich showed driver who refused to pause amid the protesters blocking the road. As the protesters approached to block the car, it slowly lurched forward.
The climate protesters were dragged hundreds of feet into the roadway by the car.
Around the same time period, a 41-year-old trucker in Germany got into a brutal confrontation with climate protesters, dragging them each to the side of the road and later dragging a protester forward using his vehicle.
In July, a woman in Germany grabbed one of the climate protesters by the hair and dragged her to the side of the road. The woman was later dubbed a “brutal blonde” by European media.
The activist was lightly injured in the altercation. Police said they were looking into videos and photos of the incident to determine if criminal procceedigns were necessary against those who dragged the protesters off the road. They also said the climate activists were taken into custody.
“The Last Generation aren’t protecting the climate, they’re engaged in criminal activity,” Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport of Germany, Volker Wissing, said.
