40 years as a police officer

“Violence in the family haunted me after work”

Krug will now only see police buildings from the outside; his career officially ends on Tuesday

(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

After 40 years, Christian Krug is retiring as commander of the Kössen police force. The 60-year-old talks about violence in his private life, how the 2013 floods affected him privately and professionally and when it became dangerous for him.

September 4 was Christian Krug's last day of work at Kössen police station, and he was unable to feel any great melancholy or joy due to a series of missions. He used his remaining leave until the end of the month to attend a course as a supervisory fisherman at the fishing association, which is why we met the father of two daughters in Innsbruck.

"Krone": Mr. Krug, what motivated you to start police training in Absam in September 1982?
Christian Krug: I was a volunteer with the rescue service and had to deal with the police on missions. I liked the professional help and the human aspect.

. .. until you were tempted by an unusual job?
Yes, I became an air traffic control assistant at St. Johann airfield, which was done by the police at the time. You act like a small airport tower, handling radio communications with the pilots, for example.

Christian Krug as post commander, in Kitzbühel he worked in several inspections.

(Bild: zoom.tirol)

Back on normal duty, what challenges did you face in a Tyrolean district?
In the village, you are the contact person for everything. In cities, there are government offices, social aid organizations and NGOs. I specialized in family violence in particular, I was a trainer and networked with nationwide violence protection facilities."

I always went to the families in civilian clothes - for one-to-one conversations and because listening is the most important thing.

Christian Krug

Your formative experiences in this sensitive area?
Violence in families sometimes haunted me even after work. I kept going to the families in civilian clothes - for one-on-one conversations and because listening is the most important thing. And yes, many a father has realized during such conversations what he does at home every day.

Is it still a fight against windmills?
There were some great rays of hope. At a party, a 13-year-old girl stormed up to me happily and thanked me, and my colleague looked puzzled. The father of this pupil was my first reference, the law had just come into force.

Krug was privately and professionally affected by the floods in Kössen.

(Bild: ZOOM-TIROL)

You worked as the commander in Kössen for 20 years, so the 2013 floods were also part of your era?
That affected me both personally and professionally. On the evening of June 1st, we were still clearing things out of the cellar and into my wife's fishing business. In the end, the store was also flooded and our two cars were destroyed. I was on duty non-stop for 36 hours, and at first no reinforcements could come from outside. I then went on patrol with a borrowed dog to prevent looting. I will always remember the tremendous team spirit.

40 years in daily hotspots - do you get into danger yourself?Once I had to go to the hospital to help a rioting person - alone, as was usual at the time. Thanks to my training, I was able to fend off the boxing blows, but a colleague who came along suffered permanent eye damage. And just last year, I was dragged along by an 81-year-old fare dodger in Kössen - the result was a damaged arm.

In the 1990s, I was involved in a bike race when the police officer himself took to his bike.

(Bild: zVg)

What is your motto in such situations?
Generally speaking, it's about de-escalating, not always immediately asserting yourself. Police officers are service providers, even if they are not always ordered.

Would you recommend the police profession to a young person?
It seems to have worked out in the family (laughs), because my daughter, stepdaughter, son-in-law and two nephews are also police officers. In general, it's exciting when you don't know what to expect when you start work. I'm a bit wistful, but many of the recent changes have been challenging. I've made good friends with the farewell.