By Hildburg Bruns and Axel Lier
At first it was just an administrative offence, now it’s a political issue with allegations of racism. The bizarre mobile phone dispute between a Green politician and two Berlin police officers has occupied the authorities for weeks.
It was still warm when Kadir S. (35) drove on the Johannisthaler Chaussee with the window down. Two officers observed that the driver was holding a cell phone in his right hand as he turned and typed something. Also in the car: a little boy.
The police officers stopped the vehicle. Driver’s license? None, not there.
When determining the personal details, they should have asked by default: Have you ever made an appearance to the police? The politician with a migration background interpreted this as a racially motivated question.
The police officer involved in the review has a migration background herself, her colleague is an LGBTQ officer.
The Green denied ever having had a cell phone in his hand, and is said to have said: “Do you actually know who I am?”
Kadir S. has been a member of the Neukölln District Parliament (BVV) since November 2021, one of eleven Greens there.
“We have no reason to doubt that our colleagues behaved impeccably here,” says Stephan Weh (44), head of the police union (GdP).
And further: “The StVO also apply to politicians in the constitutional state and the fact that you cannot simply pull the racism card and make false claims in order to cover up your own misconduct.”
The penalty for using a mobile phone while driving is a fine of 100 euros and one point in Flensburg.
Because the policewoman had asked him: “Why are you lying here now, we both just saw it?” Kadir S. filed a criminal complaint against the two police officers for insult. They would have made him out to be a liar.
When asked by the BZ, Kadir S. did not want to comment on the process.