BERLIN — Violence erupted overnight in Frankfurt between police officers and youths who have been partying in a central city square on weekends, with bars and clubs shuttered to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It was the latest outbreak of violence targeting the German police amid tensions over a national debate on racial profiling in police ranks. “The mood turned against us,” Frankfurt’s police chief, Gerhard Bereswill, said Sunday at a news conference. “Certain groups feel encouraged — above all when they have been drinking — to attack police, ” he added. The violence in Frankfurt comes weeks after hundreds of young men attacked the police and vandalized dozens of stores in Stuttgart, and amid nationwide tensions over calls for German security officials to examine biases and racial profiling.

Source: New York Times July 19, 2020 17:50 UTC