By Joanna Putman
Police1
BAVARIA, Germany — The German Police Union (DPolG) created a video featuring pantless officers on April Fool’s Day – but it wasn’t just for a joke, DW reported.
The video was posted on Instagram and Youtube accounts owned by the state of Bavaria’s chapter of DPolG, according to the report. The video shows two officers seated in a cruiser. They each ask each other, “How long have you been waiting?”
They respond with 4 months and 6 months respectively. They then exit the police cruiser revealing they are wearing a uniform complete with shoes, a duty belt and a hat – but noticeably without their pants.
Jürgen Köhnlein, chairman of the Bavarian DPolG, appears in the video to inform viewers that the video speaks to a serious issue. Bavarian police officers have been dealing with a uniform shortage due to a supply chain issue, according to the report.
Click below to see full video.
“Bavaria’s police are ‘stripping bare’ and could literally be left standing without trousers,” Köhlein says.
Köhlein stated that wait times for as many as 21 different uniform items can take months if they are available at all, and that some police recruits are required to train in civilian clothing. The video called upon the Interior ministry to rectify the problem, equating the chronic uniform shortage with a lack of respect for officers, according to the report.