A German police officer was accused of painting a radical climate activist's face with orange paint after slamming them to the ground, according to the daily German newspaper The Berliner Zeitung.
Radical climate activists from Letzte Generation (The Last Generation) defaced the Federal Chancellery in Berlin, the official seat and residence of the chancellor of Olaf Scholz. Police arrested 70 activists involved in the protest. Berlin police are currently investigating at least one encounter between a plainclothes officer and an activist, according to The Berliner Zeitung's Wednesday report.
"A man… caused particular outrage on site. He was extremely aggressive, knocking two women to the ground, kneeing one of the demonstrators… and pulling violently on her arms. In a video taken by a reporter from the Berliner Zeitung, the man can be seen dragging a paintbrush through one of the women's faces. When asked, a spokeswoman for the Berlin police explained that the man was actually a police officer," the daily Berlin-based newspaper reported.
Head of the press office for the Berlin police, Anja Dierschke, confirmed an investigation into the officer was ongoing in a statement to Fox News Digital: "This is a police officer from the state of Berlin. A specialist department of the State Criminal Police Office has started the investigation. A criminal investigation was initiated against the officer on suspicion of bodily harm... The examination of possible disciplinary proceedings depends on the outcome of the criminal proceedings."
GRETA THUNBERG DRAGGED OUT OF OIL FACILITY BY POLICE, CLAIMS CRIME IS SELF-DEFENSE FROM FOSSIL FUELS
Climate activists associated with Letzte Generation have been staging protests that have irked the German public, including blocking major roads and highways and even causing airplane delays.
"We are all part of the last generation who still has the chance to stop the complete ecological collapse of Earth, regardless of whether we want it or not," the Letzte Generation said. "We come together and offer resolute non-violent resistance to the fossil-fuel madness happening in our present. We are society's will to survive! We still have two to three years in which we can divert from the path of the fossil-fuel led annihilation."
Police said there has been a sharp uptick in attacks on protesters over the past year.
In September, a police officer was accused of dumping oil on a radical climate protester blocking the road who glued their hand to the pavement.
In August, in Munich, Germany, a driver pushed climate activists hundreds of feet along the road after they refused to get out of the way of incoming traffic.
In July, a woman in Germany grabbed one of the climate protesters by the hair and dragged her to the side of the road. The woman was later dubbed a "brutal blonde" by European media.
TRUCKER IN GERMANY DRAGS RADICAL CLIMATE PROTESTER WITH VEHICLE DURING BRUTAL CONFRONTATION
The activist was lightly injured in the altercation. Police said they were looking into videos and photos of the incident to determine if criminal proceedings were necessary against those who dragged the protesters off the road. They also said the climate activists were taken into custody.
"The Last Generation aren't protecting the climate, they're engaged in criminal activity," Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport of Germany Volker Wissing has said in the past about the group.
For more Culture, Media, Education, Opinion and channel coverage, visit foxnews.com/media.
