Hamburg club Golden Pudel shares statement in response to "aggressive" police raid
A member of staff was held overnight and accused of selling drugs by police following the raid
Hamburg club Golden Pudel has accused local police of "aggressive" and "inhumane" treatment of the venue's staff during a raid there last month.
The incident, which took place on Friday, 23rd August, came after an undercover police officer accused a member of the club's staff of selling drugs on the premises, the venue said in a statement shared on Instagram. The employee was subsequently arrested, and around 30 police officers temporarily cordoned off the club.
In a statement, translated from German via Resident Advisor's report, Golden Pudel said the allegations of selling drugs were "completely baseless" and added that no drugs were found during the police's searches of the venue. The staff member was, however, arrested and held overnight by police.
The club's statement added: "This case represents an unprecedented escalation of what has been happening around the Pudel Club daily and has intensified on the Pudel premises itself in recent weeks. Individuals present as guests have previously been forcefully arrested and, as with our team member now, they were exclusively people with dark skin.
"The location of the incident is part of an area classified by the authorities as a 'dangerous place' (formerly a 'danger zone'). This area includes Park Fiction, Hafenstrasse and the Pudel, all of which traditionally represent the idea of diverse, independent, open and anti-authoritarian coexistence of subcultures and communities where everyone is welcome. These institutions are deeply rooted in the entire neighbourhood with this approach. In our opinion, the police disregard this claim and often literally trample upon it.
"We call on the authorities to put an end to this inhumane behaviour by the police, as it not only endangers this place but actually makes it dangerous. The question, however, is: dangerous for whom...?"
Find the club's full German language statement below.
In 2018, Golden Pudel was protected locally as a "site of cultural worth".
