GERMAN POLICE HAVE apologised to a cyclist after they pulled him over for cycling his bike using his only hand.

Source: Henning Kaiser AFP

Bogdan Ionescu was cycling through Cologne when he was pulled over by an officer for riding dangerously. When the officer noticed Ionescu’s missing arm, he fined him €25 for customising his bike to work on a single lever, as under German road safety rules, bicycles must have two handlebar brakes.

However, after reports in local Cologne media, German police retracted the fine and issued an apology. Newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger even discovered that the bike was perfectly legal and roadworthy, even with the modifications.

Despite the offer of a refund, the police initially only offered him €5, with the other €20 allegedly taken for a faulty light.

Ionescu said he could prove this was nonsense, and he was cycling that day, March 25, with both lights fully functioning.

Finally, police told Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger yesterday that they had offered a full refund an apology to Ionescu after confirming that the bike was completely roadworthy. A spokesperson said:

We only hope something like this never happens again.

The city’s police chief Wolfgang Albers is also set to apologise personally to him.

Speaking to the newspaper, Bogdan said he’s happy that the case has come to a conclusion after weighing on him for weeks and his belief that he had been discriminated against.