The future Frankfurt police chief, Stefan Müller, will not have an easy start when he takes office in mid-July.

Shortly after his appointment, there was criticism from the left, who indirectly accused Müller of not taking the fight against right-wing extremism seriously.

A sentence that Müller uttered in a staff meeting when he was commissioned to restructure the Frankfurt SEK due to right-wing extremist activities served as evidence.

Accordingly, he had said that nobody should now “be afraid that the game of the ten little negroes” would be played – and meant that the impression should not be given that one after the other was being taken out of service without a closer examination of the circumstances.

Müller immediately apologized for it.

Now the Frankfurt SPD city councilor Omar Shehata has taken up the sentence again and launched a petition against Müller.

In it, the future Frankfurt police chief is described as a “racist”, and Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) is called on to “reconsider” Müller’s nomination.

Catherine Iskandar

Responsible editor for the "Rhein-Main" department of the Sunday newspaper.

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The Association of German Criminal Investigators (BDK) was stunned by these claims on Thursday and spoke of "a campaign" against Müller.

"To speak badly of a criminalist who has shown in so many cases what expertise he has, especially with regard to the fight against the law, before he has taken office is extremely questionable," said the federal chairman of the BDK, Dirk Peglow.

"The picture that is being spread about Stefan Müller does him no justice." Peglow recalled that it was Müller who, as a special investigator, only made sure that the SEK in Frankfurt was there after the controversial chats had happened was, had been re-established.

But that is now being reversed.

The police union is also surprised by the petition.

"Apparently a mistake that was made without bad intentions is being completely exaggerated," said state chairman Jens Mohrherr.

At the time, Müller reacted immediately and apologized, "that stands for modern management culture".

According to Mohrherr, the SPD in particular “should take a closer look at the issue of error and leadership culture, because they have completely different problems with the mayor of Frankfurt.

Maybe you just try to distract from it.”