Lorenz A. and Germany’s Deadly Pattern of Racist Policing

The killing of Lorenz A. lays bare the reality of racist policing in Germany – and a media culture more practiced in echoing police narratives than challenging them.

On Easter Sunday, 21-year-old Lorenz A. was shot and killed by police in Oldenburg. Lorenz, a young Black man, had been denied entry to a local nightclub – allegedly because of his clothing. In the confrontation that followed with the club’s security, he used pepper spray and fled the scene.

According to the Oldenburg public prosecutor, Lorenz used peppe…