The family of ethnic Turk Ertekin Özkan, who was fatally shot by police in Mannheim, Germany on Saturday, strongly criticized the actions of the officers involved and are demanding justice.
"They didn't listen to my child. They shot him. The police didn't even tell my son to calm down. I could have saved him too. They deliberately took my child's life," said his mother, Seniye Özkan.
"He has three children who are orphans. They could have shot him in the leg, the foot. They killed my child on purpose."
She said that on the day of the incident Ertekin was acting erratically and at some point took a knife in hand.
"I said, 'What's wrong with you?' He said, 'I'm fine, call the police. I said, 'Why should I call the police?' Then he called the police himself.
"I said, 'Don't do this. Please give me the knife.' Then when the police came, they grabbed me by my hands and threw me to the side."
Saying she wanted to go to her son, but the police did not let her, Özkan added: "If they had let me go to my child, I would have saved him. My child didn't do anything to anyone."
Özkan stressed that she would demand her rights, adding: "Ertekin didn't harm anyone. He used to help the elderly. No one can say anything about Ertekin."
On allegations that her son was using drugs, Özkan said: "My son was clean for two years. He was going to start a new job at the beginning of the year. I gave 50 years of my life to Germany and they openly killed my son. We served Germany for years."
She added: "What did they want from my child? Ertekin has three daughters. They are also miserable. The eldest daughter is still crying. She was very affected."
Ertekin's sister Meral Sert said her brother was executed by the German police.
Sert said she could not understand why her brother was shot four times.
'Four very unnecessary bullets. One police officer shot twice, the others once (each). There was no need to fire any bullets. I see this as an execution. It's as if they were read to kill. You can also see it in the videos. Eyewitnesses also describe it," she said.
Vowing a legal challenge, Sert said: "We will fight this legal battle with our lawyer. For God's sake, the matter should not be closed. We want (justice)-not only for my brother, but for everyone here."
Sema Umuc, an eyewitness to the shooting, said: 'When Ertekin took a few steps forward, I heard four shots, and I shouted. When there were similar incidents in Mannheim before, the police didn't act so disproportionately. I saw him after he collapsed on the ground. He was on his back. They immediately pounced on him and put his hands behind his back."
Ertekin's body is expected to be buried in the Muslim cemetery in Mannheim after the autopsy and other official procedures are completed, reportedly as of this Friday.
On X, German Left Party MP Gokay Akbulut criticized the police, sharing the statements to Sudwest-Rundfunk television made by Ertekin's daughter Yasemin.
Akbulut used the hashtag #policeviolence in his post.
Mannheim police officers caused the deaths of two people in separate incidents on May 2 and 10, 2022.
After an investigation was opened, the trial of the police officers who caused the deaths will begin next month.
The "May 2 Initiative" is set to hold an event in the neighborhood where the incident took place to protest the killing of Ertekin by the police and to hold a vigil against police violence.
