During the street war on May 1st, thugs threw a british grenade at the police, which exuded a yelow gas. While thinking at first it was harmless, short while later police officers lost orientation, broke down, and vomitted, having been helpless. Almost half a hundred officers was affected.
Where they got that grenade, is unknown. It was from contemporary arsenals of the British, it is no "survivor"of WWII.
It is a worrying incident, imo, because since quite some time we see a dramatic decline in inhibitions of physically attacking the police, which more and more often becomes the hunted not only during riots, but also in ordinary street patrols. The level of violance and readiness to use it is rapidly growing. Considering that half a hundred officers were left helpless and depended on help and protection by collegues, this could easily lead to a situation where during the next "Straßenfest" several policemen will be left dead in the streets.
http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/arti...gegriffen.html
The police union accuses politicians of having known the event that now became published since longer, and also to have known that the gas was doing harm to the officer's health - but they did not inform them nevertheless, and left the victims of the gas attack to themselves.
The number and size of no-go areas in Berlin have increased, I read and hear from other sources - the police refuses to go there even when being called in as long as they do not get massive support by special operations squads and huge operation groups of police.
Wokring conditions for German police are constantly detoriating since years, due to the desperate budget situation. the officers are underpayed, have volumes of additonal working hours, too few patrol cars, too few officers to man them, archaic radios and constantly crashing computer systems that are said to be on the level of police conditions in Albania or worse. Parts of their equipment they need to buy themselves, many officers never get a bullet-proof vest if not investing their own money for it.
I know one man personally who quit in frustration two years ago. He said he knows districts in Germany where they even have to pay their regular training ammo themselves.