More than 50 last-generation climate activists blocked several streets in the state capital on Saturday. Even emergency services can sometimes no longer get through.
“So far we have not been aware of any delays in the emergency services,” said Daniel Anand, spokesman for the fire department. To his knowledge, however, on Saturday, for the first time, an emergency trip had to be canceled due to a roadblock and another ambulance had to be sent to the emergency site.
This step became necessary because at times nothing worked at all in Stuttgart. According to the police, around 9:30 a.m., more than 50 activists from the last generation blocked several junctions at the same time – and sometimes stuck themselves to the ground: on Theodor-Heuss-Straße, on Neckartalstraße, Oberen Weinsteige, Heilbronner Straße, Geißeichstraße, the Jahnstrasse, Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse, Maybachstrasse and the Heslacher Tunnel. There were serious traffic jams. Wherever possible, traffic was diverted past the activists until they were freed from the lanes. Police officers – more than 80 were on duty – were only able to open the blocked streets to traffic again around 12.30 p.m.
Delay in rescue chain is still being determined
Too late for the paramedics, who had to call off their emergency operation in the city center due to the traffic delays. Daniel Anand cannot yet say how great the delay in the rescue chain was and what health effects it had on the person to be rescued. “This must be evaluated by the relevant authorities in the coming days,” says the spokesman for the fire department. “So far, activists have blocked a spot in the city area, to which the emergency services have been able to react accordingly.” The effects on Saturday were much more far-reaching. In addition, the climate activists would “connect more and more massively with the ground,” reports Anand. A hand that is pressed onto the asphalt with superglue can apparently be removed relatively easily with oil. The situation is different when sand is added. Then the blockers are more or less firmly concreted, and then “technical equipment is required”. The fire brigade came to eight places on Saturday with hammer and chisel as well as electric hammer drills.
As with the blockade on Tuesday, when access to the Porsche general meeting in Bad Cannstatt was supposed to be made more difficult for shareholders, the activists had to endure hostilities. The police speak of aggressive behavior. The frustration of road users stuck in traffic was mostly expressed verbally.
However, an incident that occurred below Killesberg Höhenpark could still have legal consequences. A video has surfaced on social media showing an angry motorist grabbing the feet of a taped activist to pull him off Maybachstrasse. Because his opponent defends himself, apparently in pain, he lets go of him after a short time. A witness filming the action is pushed away. The driver then gets into his car, drives around the activists who are sitting on the ground and slowly pushes a man wearing a high-visibility vest in front of him. The video also shows a woman snatching a banner and backpack from the activists.
The investigators at the Stuttgart Police Headquarters are also on the go on social networks – and are viewing and securing the material that was uploaded to the blockades. “If we become aware of videos where criminal acts can be seen, then we will initiate investigations,” said a police spokeswoman at the weekend. If people are pulled off the street by force, it could be a case of bodily harm. “We examine such recordings,” said the spokeswoman. Meanwhile, the activists of the last generation are likely to face a coercion trial.