Quick checklist: What to do after a knee restraint

What matters is:

• Witnesses: Are there people at the scene who witnessed the act of violence? Exchange contact details with them.
• Written recollection: As soon as possible after the knee restraint, write down in as much detail as you can what happened, where, and when.
• Document medical consequences: Go to a violence protection clinic (Berlin) or to your GP/family doctor. Describe what happened. Have the injuries inflicted on you during the knee restraint documented. Have not only the physical but also the psychological consequences documented. A knee restraint is a traumatic experience of violence. If additional physical or psychological effects appear in the weeks and months after the knee restraint, have those documented too. Make sure it is recorded that your symptoms were triggered by the knee restraint and that there is a clear connection.
• Secure evidence: Is there video material? If there were surveillance cameras at the location of the incident, have the recordings secured as quickly as possible (retention periods are often very short, sometimes only 48 hours) and keep a copy.

You have now already collected important documents that may help you later. If you decide to report the knee restraint, be prepared for attempts to intimidate you—by not believing you, by portraying you and your statements as not credible through perpetrator–victim reversal, through lies and false accounts of the knee restraint by the police officers involved and state institutions.

Get support and advice

Seek support from friends and family. If needed, contact initiatives (such as KOP) or counseling centers (such as ReachOut) that work against (racist) police violence and can advise you. Find a lawyer—ideally someone who already has experience in this area. Regardless of how a possible court case turns out, filing a report about a knee restraint is already a success.

Possible contact points and counseling services in cases of violence:

• KOP Berlin: https://kop-berlin.de/ and on Instagram @kop_berlin
• ReachOut: https://www.reachoutberlin.de
• Copwatch Hamburg: http://copwatch-hh.org and on Instagram @copwatch_hh
• Copwatch FFM: https://www.copwatchffm.org and on Instagram @copwatchffm
• Copwatch Leipzig: https://copwatchleipzig.home.blog and on Instagram @copwatch_le

You can find more in a brochure that informs you about your rights in cases of racist police violence (as of 11/2023).

Are you a witness to a knee restraint?

Are you a witness to a knee restraint?

• Show solidarity with those affected; offer to be a witness. If appropriate, speak to other people at the scene who could also be witnesses. Exchange contact details.
• Write down the officers’ ID numbers: Ask the police officers for their identification numbers. Refusing to provide an ID number is unlawful.
• Film the act of violence: If you were able to film the incident on your phone, keep the video. You are allowed to film as long as you do not “interfere” with police work. You can find a guide to filming police violence at GoFilmThePolice.
• Written recollection: As soon as possible after the knee restraint, write down in as much detail as you can what you observed, where, and when.