About 220 officers released from duty for Hamburg summit after raucous party inside fenced-off grounds of temporary container

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Berlin’s police department said their officers were “only human” after they were expelled from the security force for next week’s G20 summit for partying.



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About 220 officers from Berlin were released from duty by the Hamburg authorities for the 7-8 July summit in the city after they threw a wild party that involved public sex, brawling, urinating in a group and a bathrobe-clad officer strip-dancing with her service weapon.



“Yes, we partied,” the Berlin police acknowledged in a statement on Facebook on Wednesday. “They drank, danced, pissed and, yes, apparently also bonked, as our press officer put it so well,” the police statement said.



It said two officers were celebrating their birthdays, and their colleagues decided to throw a party inside the fenced-off grounds of their temporary container accommodation. But it said that “inside our uniforms are human beings” – young men and women who carry heavy responsibilities when on duty and are usually “very professional”.

The department also added a postscript apology to colleagues from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, who shared the Berlin officers’ accommodation but did not join the party that reportedly went on until 6.30am.

Details of the officers’ exploits made the front pages of Germany’s biggest newspapers, while Twitter reacted with the hashtag #partypolizei.

But the embarrassing incident bolstered the force’s credibility in some quarters, with an association representing Berlin’s world-renowned clubbing scene issuing a statement to celebrate the officers.

“Barely 10 days before the meeting of the world’s political elites, Berlin’s operation team has fulfilled its function as role models and organised a great party,” Berlin’s Clubcommission said.

The force’s Facebook post also sought to turn the unexpected attention into an opportunity to find new recruits. “We invite you to get a personal picture of this professional work, and to convince yourselves that we are not party police, but rather we are the capital’s professional police force,” it said.