A Turkish-origin man died in the German city of Nuremberg after police units used a stun gun on him — a controversial practice still debated in Bavaria.
Eyewitnesses told the Ihlas News Agency that the neighbors of 43-year-old Ümit Dursun, who was reportedly suffering from several psychological disturbances, called the police Monday after noises came from his house.
A six-man police squad arrived at the scene and tried to persuade Dursun to let them in. When Dursun refused and threatened to jump from the apartment building where he lived before, they used a stun gun despite the practice still being debated in the southern German state.
The police later injected him with a tranquilizer when they could not restrain him. Dursun then collapsed and an ambulance was called to the scene. Medics made the first interventions at Dursun's home and later at the hospital, but the father of two lost his life despite all efforts.
The Dursun family said that the 43-year-old had been on treatment for allergies to medication, and that the injection with the stun gun resulted in his death. Dursun's daughter Ebru accuses the police of negligence, and those responsible should be held accountable.
Turks living in the neighborhood reacted against the incident, saying that the police treat foreign or foreign-origin people differently. They said that Dursun came from a reputable family in the area and was known as a charitable person.
Police said that Dursun's exact cause of death will be determined by the investigation of the Nuremberg Prosecutor's Office.
The Turkish consul general in Nuremberg, Yavuz Kül, announced that they would pursue the case.
"We are shaken by the news that Ümit Dursun died because of disproportionate police violence. We hope such incidents will not be repeated," Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak said Thursday in the Turkish capital Ankara during a joint press conference with visiting German Minister of Economy Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier.
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