“What happened in Bamberg is a development that many have been following for years,” said Ralf Großmann for the Focus weekly website. For more than twenty years he has been working as a lifeguard and at the same time a swimming pool administrator. According to him, there were always conflicts at the swimming pools. “However, what is new is the intensity. More and more often, colleagues experience that even a simple address is enough to cause an argument,” he says.
Almost no escalation begins with violence. House rules are usually mentioned at the beginning. Someone is asked to change their behavior or follow the given rules. “However, what was accepted in the past is now increasingly questioned. Discussions turn into arguments. Arguments turn into insults and the spiral spins,” describes Großmann.
The case in Bamberg shows exactly this pattern. The situation, which was supposed to be resolved by agreement between the local security or swimming pool staff, turned into a major police operation, but even then there was no peace.
What happened at the Bamberk swimming pool
The incident at the swimming pool in Bamberk occurred on Thursday around 19:30. Two fifteen-year-old brothers were behaving inappropriately in the changing room, when the swimming pool staff pointed them to the rules and asked them to behave according to them, one of the brothers physically attacked him. A colleague noticed the problem and rushed to help the victim. The security service of the swimming pool managed to get both teenagers under control until the police arrived. At that moment, the parents of both boys appeared and entered the swimming pool and were very aggressive. They started threatening and attacking the policemen. In order to get the situation under control, law enforcement officers had to use pepper spray against the boys’ father.
“It’s no longer about disrespecting the pool staff, but the complete ignoring of the security forces. The border was crossed,” he comments on the case. He reminds that, according to him, the police do not go to check visitors to the swimming pool. They are called when the situation escalates. According to Großmann, those who cross borders should not be trivialized. “Anyone who physically assaults employees, security forces or police officers at the swimming pool should not be able to return there the next day,” he says, reminding that in football there are nationwide bans on entering stadiums for violent people. “Therefore, it should be considered whether a similar solution should also be adopted for those who are responsible for violence and safety problems at swimming pools,” Großmann added.
According to him, one should not wait for someone to be seriously injured before drastic measures are taken.
