An internal police report reveals the level of chaos that existed in Cologne on New Year’s Eve as hundreds of intoxicated men robbed people and groped dozens of women while police struggled to respond.
The report, written by a senior police official and obtained by Der Spiegel, states, “Women, accompanied or not, literally ran a ‘gauntlet’ through masses of heavily intoxicated men that words cannot describe.”
Officers were overtaxed and struggled to respond to what the report calls “chaos.” “Security forces were unable to get all of the incidents, assaults, crimes, etc. under control. There were simply too many happening at the same time,” the report states.
When people in the crowd called for help, officers found they could not work their way through to reach them because of groups of men blocking their way. When officers ordered members of the mob to disperse, they were ignored.
The report also leaves little doubt about who was involved in the chaotic scene, describing the perpetrators as male migrants. Some offenders in the crowd even tore up their residence permits in front of police. One of these individuals reportedly grinned at an officer and said, “You can’t touch me. I’ll just go back tomorrow and get a new one.”
Another man reportedly told police, “I’m a Syrian! You have to treat me kindly! Mrs. Merkel invited me.” Germany’s Justice Minister indicated on Thursday that asylum seekers found guilty of sexual assault could be deported.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who pushed for Germany’s open borders policy to nearly a million Middle Eastern and African immigrants in 2015, has condemned the chaos in Cologne.
At least 150 reports have been filed with police, and the Telegraph reports three-quarters of those are women alleging sexual assault. That includes two cases of alleged rape. Several women involved in the chaos have already come forward to describe their experiences.
Despite the unprecedented chaos that transpired that night, police reported on January 1st that the tone of the evening had been “relaxed.” No clear explanation for that unfounded assessment has been offered, but police have since admitted it was “incorrect.”