Trial after elevator breakdown

Panic attack triggered questionable police operation

A 28-year-old got stuck in an elevator with his mother (symbolic image).

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/photo 5000 – stock.adobe.com)

A 28-year-old man has been afraid of confined spaces since childhood. When he got stuck in an elevator with his mother in April 2023, it triggered a panic attack. The police intervened with 30 men, pepper spray and service dogs - because the young Viennese had put up enormous resistance. In court, the versions now clearly diverge.

Tears stream down the defendant's face throughout the trial. Especially when he recounts what happened on April 26, 2023: After a birthday party, he, his mother and a friend got stuck in the elevator in their apartment building in Vienna-Floridsdorf. In the Vienna regional court, his mother explains: "He can't stand confined spaces or crowds of people."

"I was scared to death"
And the 28-year-old also sobs: "When he got stuck on the second floor, I was scared to death. I was desperate to get out. It seemed to me as if he was sliding down further and further." The young Viennese suffers from claustrophobia and was hit by a severe panic attack. A neighbor heard noise and called the police.

Police dogs and pepper spray used
The accounts now differ greatly. While the officers - in the end there were almost 30 men including a dog squadron on the scene - describe him as "upset and aggressive", his sister and mother in the Vienna countryside describe the typical symptoms of a panic attack. The 28-year-old waved his arms around and demanded his space. When he finally allegedly choked his sister - she vehemently denied this on the witness stand - the police brought the young man to the ground with pepper spray and a service dog.

I actually had a lot of respect for the police up until then. It was an escalation that I'd only ever seen on television.

Angeklagte Mutter kritisiert das Vorgehen der Beamten

But the distraught 28-year-old is not alone in the dock - his mother also has to sit next to him. This is because she also resisted the police officers when she tried to help her son. The woman, who suffers from several physical ailments, was overpowered and pushed to the ground - so hard that she even lost consciousness ...

Defense lawyer Mathias Burger.

(Bild: Andi Schiel)

Defense lawyer Mathias Burger wants to know from one of the police officers whether the situation could have been handled differently - "No. I've been in field service for four years and have never seen anyone so upset." The officer is demanding 1000 euros in compensation for two grazes on his knee.

Lacerations, dog bites and co.
The defendant suffered considerably more injuries: a laceration, abrasions and two dog bites on his hand and hip. However, the Vienna public prosecutor's office is not only accusing him of resisting public authority, he is also alleged to have injured his sister by allegedly choking her and tortured the police dog by resisting. The trial is adjourned for other witnesses to the operation in question.