Source: dpa (TNS)
Stuttgart—A German man who went on a rampage with a stolen excavator on New Year’s Day before being fatally shot by police had been in a bitter dispute with his ex-employer over money, prosecutors told dpa on Friday.
The 38-year-old man stole an excavator from the construction company where he once worked in the small southern German town of Grünsfeld, destroyed property there and then drove the excavator to a nearby car dealership also owned by the same ex-employer.
He led police on a chase that lasted just under an hour, during which he damaged several police vehicles and injured several officers, before he was fatally shot by police.
The man had brought a case in labour court alleging unpaid wages from his former employer, a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office leading the investigation said. The perpetrator had won at least part of the dispute and, according to the court decision, was entitled to back pay.
The man’s last known address was in the central German state of Thuringia, according to the spokesman.
Prosecutors are investigating the handling of the incident, including whether police were justified in fatally shooting the man.
According to the spokesman, officers fired a large number of shots during the incident, although many were warning shots not aimed directly at the man. An autopsy has confirmed that the man was killed by gunshots fired by police.
The police had requested assistance from local road maintenance crews to set up roadblocks, which did not happen.
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