Several hundred revelers in Berlin parks triggered police operations on Saturday night. A police spokesman reported that James-Simon-Park in Mitte had been cleared after dangerous bodily harm. About 800 people would have celebrated there before.
After the attack on a 20-year-old at around 11:30 p.m., the atmosphere was very tense. “To prevent further escalation, the park was completely cleared,” said the spokesman.
According to him, this was preceded by a dispute between two groups. As a result, three previously unknown men hit the 20-year-old and kicked him when he was on the ground. Two friends who came to his aid were also attacked. The perpetrators could have fled.
The police also checked the revelers in the neighboring Monbijoupark. About 300 people had gathered there, the spokesman said. A total of around 60 officials were on site.
Based on the experiences of the past summer months, the police want to monitor the situation in the Berlin parks more closely. “If the weather is good, you have to expect that it will fill up quickly and that there will also be arguments quickly,” said the spokesman.
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Last year, due to closures due to the corona pandemic, thousands of people kept going to Berlin’s parks for parties. There were sometimes violent clashes between revelers and police officers. The district responsible finally issued restrictions for James Simon Park. Entry was prohibited from 8 p.m.
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District office and police hoped that these measures would “break the spiral of violence in and out of the park” and make the park unattractive to those seeking violence, said the mayor of the Mitte district, Stephan von Dassel (Greens), at the time. The nightly parties caused damage of 200,000 euros in James Simon Park alone.
