Police Action Precipitates Chaos, Violence

Property damage, numerous injuries and at least one death resulted from specious police action against small groups of unarmed and innocent civilians throughout the central and southwest districts of Berlin throughout the day today. While the KPD cannot totally escape blame for their aggressive and armed reaction, the majority of Police actions involved their attempt to enforce the ever more obviously unnecessary emergency decree used to justify their incompetent management of what should have been a minor skirmish and a few arrests.
 
The focus of the violence was the Freidrichstrasse, where the Police had erected a checkpoint manned by armed sailors and police-manned machine guns. The checkpoint commanded the east end of the street, while the Police Barracks and Headquarters controlled the west. For most of the morning Police occupied themselves with harassing and bullying civilians walking the streets, although a rifle-armed KPD member thought to be Ellis Felicci remained at large in the cities poor southwestern section and harassed police and civilians alike with occasional sniper fire. Wachtmiester Pinder had actually cornered Felicci at about 15 minutes before noon in the Althausegasse, but allowed him to escape and continue his harassment.

But by noon the entire affair had become an out-of-control "police riot". Citizens were threatened with being shot if they failed to comply with the continually changing demands of the "state of emergency", and several people were clubbed by police and remain in hospital. Not satisfied with losing control of the situation and turning the entire city into violent police-induced chaos, they next proceeded to botch the siege of an apartment on the north side of the Freidrichstrasse where the last of the pro-communist elements had taken refuge. Although a white truce flag was presented from a second story window, the police ignored it and pressed the assault. Shots were fired and several gas and smoke grenades were exploded, although it is unclear by which side. At one point the Officer-in-Command, Oberwachtmeister Danitz, threatened to fire the building unless the occupants, already offering the truce flag, came out.

At about 13:00 local time, the Police completely lost control of the situation, with the large and increasingly angry crowd demanding they cease their outrageous behavior immediately. The Police, principally Danitz, responded by clubbing several members of the crowd senseless and threatening to shoot the rest if they failed to disburse immediately, which the crowd refused to do. At about 13:20, Officer Pinder arrived with a Municipal Judge in tow, the situation having reach a point of high tension and extreme danger. At 13:21, the judge relieved Danitz of the command and ordered him to return to the police station. Wachtmeister Pinder then attempted to persuade the crowd to disburse, shouting that "There has been enough violence for one day," and urging them not to provoke more.

By this time there were numerous and seriously injured people littering the street, including some of the medical staff who had been attempting to render aid, and attention was gradually shifted to caring for the injured. Inconsistent reports indicated that Ellis Felicci was alive and in stable condition at the hospital, but that an American had died of his injuries despite best efforts of the medical staff.

[Ed. Note: As of the time of this edition, the situation had calmed but remained confused. Additional information can be expected, along with photographs of the events, over the next 24 hours.]