The Berlin Administrative Court has banned a Berlin police officer from his social media activities on Tiktok. As „Officer Denny“, he not only used his private Tiktok account to report on his everyday work, but also conducted interviews with well-known clan celebrities, whom he also addressed as "Denny". Unsurprisingly, the Administrative Court of Berlin recognised a discrepancy between the police officer's leisure activities and his official duties (Ref.: 36 K 389/22 of 18.03.24). This is because police officers must also behave in a respectful and trusting manner when off duty, and even then their behaviour must not give rise to any doubts about their proper and objective performance of their duties. This distance necessary for the performance of their duties is lacking when police officers meet with clan leaders in their free time and use the familiar form of address.

The administrative judges also argued that it was not the responsibility of individual police officers to publicise official matters via private social media channels. Rather, public relations work is the task of the police authorities and their press offices.

This decision has once again concretised the duties of civil servants outside of work. „Officers do not have to behave like model human beings in their free time, but they are still obliged to perform their duties,“ says Dr Stephan Berndt. „Police service and private behaviour in a criminal environment simply cannot be reconciled.“

The contact persons for public service law in our practice are the lawyers Prof Dr Klaus Herrmann, Dr Stephan Berndt and lawyers Kristina Dörnenburg and Kristina Gottschalk, LL.M.oec