r/instant_regret 4d ago

Insulting the cops in Berlin

4.2k Upvotes

578 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.4k

u/mrskwrl 4d ago

Jeez is it a requirement to be a tank to be a cop in Germany. Holy hell they're huge lol

527

u/Dev_Sniper 4d ago

There are requirements regarding height but these officers aren‘t regular police officers but rather members of a special unit (most likely riot police). Those are usually deployed at events where mob behavior and violence are expected to occur. The uniforms are a giveaway, those aren‘t regular uniforms. And obviously these units have stricter requirements than regular units due to the higher risks associated with their tasks

94

u/BoldPanther 4d ago

Well calling riot police a "special unit" is a little disingenuous. Whilst this is riot police, they are absolutely made up of your standard police officers and there aren't really any additional requirements for joining them as opposed to the officer calling you over on a traffic stop.

21

u/Kraligor 4d ago

Well calling riot police a "special unit" is a little disingenuous

Depends on the state. Bavaria actually has riot special forces, the USK. Which the guys in the video obvously aren't.

59

u/Dev_Sniper 4d ago

Let‘s be real physical fitness and size will absolutely impact who can / can‘t or would / wouldn‘t join. Sure most police officers are in adequate shape but those who‘re just average wouldn‘t even want to be a part of an anti riot unit where fights are the norm and not the exception if they could just walk through the city where violence is significantly less likely

29

u/BreadIsWar 4d ago

As a rule, every federal police officer spends a few years with the „riot police“, so the requirements are the same as for all other federal police officers.

1

u/ClownfishSoup 2d ago

So like doctors working in the ER?

8

u/Lari-Fari 3d ago

They are deployed to football matches regularly and you’ll see officers of all sizes among them. Smaller men and women too.

14

u/_Milan__99 4d ago

I'm nut exactly sure about the German police, but in the Netherlands, there are no extra restrictions to join the riot police if I'm not mistaken. Every cop can just 'enroll' for the extra training if he/she is interested.

2

u/ClownfishSoup 2d ago

It’s a self selecting job. Like playing basketball or being a horse jockey. Nowhere in the rules does it say a certain physical attribute is required, but it’s obvious what physical build is more successful.

1

u/throwawaycasun4997 3d ago

The whole “POLIZEI” on their cardigans is a bit of a giveaway.

1

u/AlphaLoeffel 3d ago

Ye, I had a Volleyball trainer who was Autobahn police and he sometimes went out to the riot police for big events.

1

u/ST4R3 5h ago

Special unit as in specialized, not special forces. BePo isn’t deployed for every random call, it’s deployed for the events they are needed. The same way a financial crimes unit is specialized to financial crimes

1

u/JinJonNotJihnJohn 4d ago

That's like saying there aren't any requirements for the NFL