This insulting and mildly cruel behavior continued after the protesters had been transferred to police stations. Even after they had been out of contact with friends and family for as much as fifteen hours, they had, at best, very restricted telephone privileges. Some were not allowed to use telephones at all — and even told, falsely, that there had been a “telephone ban.” Some women were strip searched in the police stations and one was beaten badly after she refused to let anyone touch her body. There were also a few minor injuries caused by batons and by the spray, “Mace. ” However, considering the effort the police put into the operation and the violence of the previous day’s battle — around sixty police officers had been injured at Brokdorf — the protesters were subjected to very little physical violence.

Surprisingly, the only real police “brutality” that took place during the Hamburg Kettle was directed not against humans but against taxis. When Hamburg’s taxi drivers heard how slowly demonstrators were being removed from the kettle, they sent a large fleet to the Heiligengeistfeld. Their idea was to help the protesters by offering free transport. The police learned what was happening however, and as soon as the taxis had parked beside the field, they rushed at them smashing their windshields and letting the air out of their tires.

By the next morning all the kettled protesters had been released; apparently no charges were ever laid against any of them. The incident created a political storm. At least one prominent politician who had supported the police was forced to resign. The events were debated in the German parliament in Bonn, the capital. There were many reports in the media concerning the kettling and its aftermath. And within a week 40,000 people — led by a large fleet of taxis — marched through the streets of Hamburg protesting against what the police had done at the Heiligengeistfeld.

In the autumn, a judicial inquiry was held. The police were found to have acted illegally and were reprimanded. Everyone who had been caught inside the kettle was awarded 200 marks in compensation.