On May 22nd, 2019 Oisín Osborn was shot dead in Hamburg in his own home by German police, 10 days after he had become a father.
On that fateful morning, his schoolteacher wife Nicole had called the police saying her husband had a knife, and within minutes armed police officers in protective gear burst into their home, raced up the stairs and shot the 34-year-old man dead on the landing. Osborn, who was an engineer at Airbus, was clearly in mental distress – he was standing at the top of the stairs, wearing only a loincloth, with a saucepan on his head. He was shot six times.
Katrina Osborn, who is from Abbeyleix, had been worried about her son since Martin’s birth because of his mood swings, from euphoric to agitated. When his father David tried to call Oisín on May 22nd, an unfamiliar voice – a family friend – answered the phone. “He said, ‘I am sorry, your son is dead’, that’s how I heard,” says David Osborn.
The question his parents have being asking since that tragic morning is, after the first shot, where five shots necessary?
Did the police use excessive force? The police investigation has judged the event as self-defence.
The family say they still have so many unanswered questions. Irish Times journalist Derek Scally has been following the story since that day, and following Osborn’s parents as they try to find answers. He explains the background and the questions it poses for policing in Germany. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by John Casey.
