Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner ‘physically attacks’ police outside supermarket leaving one injured

THE suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been accused of scuffling with police officers outside a supermarket in Germany. Christian Brueckner – who has never been charged in the 2007 case and to this day, maintains his innocence – was involved in a “physical attack” on cops in the city of Kiel on June 6. Defendant Christian B (R) is brought to the courtroom for a session of his trial at a court in Braunschweig, northern Germany, on September 25, 2024 Credit: AFP The suspect pictured out and about on his bike in the German town of Kiel Credit: Dan Charity / Newsgroup Newspapers Ltd Since his release from prison last year, he has been under round-the-clock police surveillance, with the force tracking his every move. The incident is understood to have happened as he refused to hand over his phone after the officers spotted that he was taking a photo of them, Der Spiegel reported. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! “During the course of the police intervention, a physical assault or act of resistance against law enforcement officers occurred,” a spokesperson for the police said. The officers involved were apparently not part of the team monitoring Brueckner and happened to be at the scene by chance. One of them even suffered a knee injury during the scrap. Brueckner’s lawyer, Philipp Marquort, confirmed the incident but said the police response was excessive. “The photo was taken from a distance of more than 40 metres and was innocuous,” he added. “This amounts to the persecution of an innocent man.” Most read in The Sun Toddler Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal in 2007 Credit: Reuters Maddie suspect Christian Bruckner pictured being led away from his new home in Neumunster Credit: Dan Charity The paedophile was also investigated by Kiel police over a fight involving a British man in April. This comes just weeks after The Sun reported that the watch, intended for public safety and to guard him from vigilantes, is set to be scrapped after a court ruled it was no longer required. But Brueckner is still expected to wear an electronic ankle monitoring tag. Police are understood to have appealed the ruling. The guard will remain in place until a court makes a final decision. A post online in Germany, confirmed by police, said: “A surveillance order for the German suspect in the case of British girl Madeleine ‘Maddie’ McCann, who disappeared in 2007, has not been renewed, according to police in Kiel. “The police headquarters in the Schleswig-Holstein state capital announced this on Wednesday. “They have already filed an appeal with the district court, and a decision is still pending.” The German national has multiple previous convictions for sex offences and other crimes including theft, drug trafficking, assault and sexual abuse of children. Brueckner grabs a reporter’s camera as he loses his cool Credit: ITV News ITV News traced the whereabouts of Brueckner Credit: ITV News He was recently released from prison after serving seven years for raping an American pensioner in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Brueckner was expected to be behind bars right now for verbally abusing a prison officer in 2023. But the court case that would have seen him jailed was scrapped last week – leaving him free to cycle to his local garden centre. Three-year-old Maddie, of Rothley, Leics., vanished from the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her family. Brueckner was named as the prime suspect in the disappearance and murder of the tot in 2020 by German cops. Police have been able to confirm his phone was near Ocean Club, where the McCanns were staying, around the time Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007. The Metropolitan Polcie are pushing for the suspect to stand trial in the UK for the toddler’s abduction and murder. The force reportedly wants to charge him ahead of the 20th anniversary of her disappearance next year. But the German government has pointed to strict rules preventing it from extraditing suspects to non-EU countries. Criminal suspects can only be sent to fellow EU member states under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW).