Six Berlin police cadets suspended for sharing racist content

Six police cadets in the German capital Berlin have been suspended for participating in chat groups in which racist content was shared, authorities said on Monday.

The six trainees may no longer continue their studies at the Berlin School of Economics and Law, police spokesman Thilo Cablitz told.

The college is used to train prospective police officers for high-ranking positions in the force.

Berlin's public prosecutor has launched an investigation into seven suspects on suspicion of hate speech. They are accused of sending offensive content in a chat group with 26 members, including images of swastikas and statements downplaying the Holocaust.

All seven men and women are facing disciplinary measures within the Berlin police, but one person's behaviour was not deemed serious enough to merit being suspended, a police spokeswoman said.

Smartphones seized

Last week, smartphones were seized by investigators. The chat participants are not said to have known each other personally, since they had been studying remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A number of state police departments in Germany have been rocked by right-wing extremism scandals, often regarding chat groups in which officers shared racist memes, Nazi symbols and hate speech.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has repeatedly insisted that the problem is down to a few bad apples and that there is no systemic racism in the German police.