During a moving memorial service on Friday, thousands of people said goodbye to the police officer who was attacked with a knife by a suspected Islamist on Mannheim’s market square two weeks ago and was fatally injured.
Relatives and friends of the deceased, politicians – including German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) – and hundreds of police officers gathered at the Rosengarten conference center.
Friendly and open, that is how speakers describe the 29-year-old civil servant. “Through his human, even loving character, Rouven left a mark on the hearts of everyone who met him,” said Ralf-Peter Schwindt, Laur’s former boss.
“He was never too good for any task or job.”
Laur always cared for others and helped outside of the service. “Whether it was as a hard-working helper on a company outing or as a mover during a colleague’s move, he was never too good for any task or job,” said Schwindt. “It is not often that we meet someone in our lives who is so special that he or she will remain in our hearts forever. Rouven was such a person.”
Speakers and participants fight back tears
Friendly and open-minded, Rouven Laur smiles from the large photo on the stage in Mannheim to the more than 2,000 mourners. Next to him are two colleagues on guard, who are fighting with themselves during the speeches not to burst into tears. And the voices of politicians and police officers paying tribute to the fatally injured officer continue to sound.
Police officers wanted to meet people at eye level
Baden-Württemberg Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann called the officer’s death an “existential injustice.” “Rouven Laur in particular was someone who tried to achieve understanding, who did not think in black and white, who sought balance, who always thought about the other,” said the Green politician.
As a police officer, Laur wanted to meet the people of Mannheim on equal terms – and that is why he learned Arabic, among other things.
Laur’s family thanked them for the public’s condolences. “What has happened around us in recent days, this enormous wave of sympathy, touches us deeply,” the family wrote.
Action must follow sorrow
At the same time, the relatives called on people not to exploit the crime, but to follow the grief with action. “Rouven would not have wanted us to be overwhelmed by hatred and anger. Instead, he would have encouraged us to pass on his values and fight for change and realignment,” the family wrote.
Two weeks ago, a 25-year-old Afghan wounded five participants in a meeting of the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and the police officer with a knife on Mannheim’s market square. The German federal prosecutor’s office assumes that there was a religious motive for the crime.
Source: Krone
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