The murder of 31-year-old christian trautner from hausen caused a nationwide stir 20 years ago in october. The police chief had been out with a colleague on the night shift. When the patrol officers wanted to carry out a routine check at the fube of erlanger burgberg, the driver fled and was apprehended a short time later in bubenreuth. While the patrol officers thought they were looking at a fleeing drunk, it was in fact the serious criminal marcel E, who was wanted on a warrant. From forchheim. He opened fire on the two policemen without warning, killing christian trautner and seriously injuring his colleague.
In the days following the crime of 12. October 2000 police unionists and politicians from the federal and state governments pressed for better self-protection for police officers. The government in rhineland-palatinate, for example, called for the use of video cameras in patrol cars. The german police union coined the term "american conditions" new rules for traffic checks: in germany, too, it must become law that the driver puts his hand on the steering wheel during traffic checks.
Many of the demands of those days have been forgotten. However, the memory of the murdered. A few days ago, a memorial stone was unveiled for him at the scene of the crime in bubenreuth’s frankenstrabe. The response was great, and not only among christian trautner’s colleagues.
"The terrible memory of the night of the crime has remained present among the residents", says norbert stumpf, who is now 45 years old and mayor of bubenreuth. The then 25-year-old had witnessed the drama in frankenstrabe as a firefighter. "I live just up the road at eichenplatz and heard the exchange of gunfire."
Shortly before the shots were fired, joachim krause also became part of the action that october night. As a civilian investigator, he heard over the radio that the driver of a ford sierra was fleeing from erlangen in the direction of bubenreuth. When krause reached frankenstrabe, there was nothing to change. Marcel E. Christian trautner was shot through the lung and his colleague was shot through the shoulder; he himself was dangerously injured by five bullets.
Christian trautner was slumped in the car seat next to the open driver’s door. He had been able to send a radio message and then collapsed. "I held him in my arms and consoled him", joachim krause remembers the worst moment of his police career.
It was unbelievably stressful "when you realize that first-aid measures are no longer effective". And it was then a certain relief for him when he was confirmed that he had done nothing wrong. The same night, the emergency doctor told him that christian trautner would have died on the operating table with the same injuries.
"You can’t experience anything worse than that, and it never lets you go", says joachim krause, who now heads a commission office in nurnberg. At the beginning, he sought psychological help. Above all, however, he "found stability thanks to my family and my faith.
When he remembers the fatal night with a distance of two decades, he still has christian trautner in his bright, blood-soaked shirt in front of his eyes: "the feelings do ebb away over the years", says joachim krause "but the pictures remain."
People like norbert stumpf or joachim krause, who were on the scene the night of the crime, can’t forget, others don’t want to. Police chief inspector ludwig weinkam, for example. The then leader of a civilian task force was not on duty that night and only heard on the radio that a policeman had been shot in bubenreuth. That it was "toni trautner was particularly close to ludwig weinkam. He knew the 31-year-old closely and appreciated his skills: "he was cool and a great cop, ludwig weinkam tells the story. He had wanted to win trautner for his civilian task force "but he really wanted to go to the erlangen-land inspection".
When the memorial stone for christian trautner was unveiled last week, ludwig weinkam was of course also present. Over his shoulder he wore a bag made of green fabric. He had it made from a discarded police coat – it was "toni’s coat" been. Ludwig weinkam also carried a memento in his pocket: "toni’s death photo. Weinkam pulled it out. And so, 20 years after trautner’s funeral at the memorial service, the picture wandered again through the hands of his colleagues.
