Incidents at the WEF Basel police officer shows "Hitler salute like Musk" - dismissed

Sven Ziegler

28.3.2025

A Basel police officer on duty at the World Economic Forum in Davos, or WEF for short, made a gesture that was interpreted as a Hitler salute. (archive picture)
A Basel police officer on duty at the World Economic Forum in Davos, or WEF for short, made a gesture that was interpreted as a Hitler salute. (archive picture)
Picture: Keystone

An officer of the Basel-Stadt cantonal police apparently behaved improperly during an operation at the WEF. In addition to sexual harassment, he is said to have shown the "Hitler salute à la Musk". He has now been dismissed.

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • While on duty at the World Economic Forum in Davos, or WEF for short, a Basel police officer made a gesture that was interpreted as a Hitler salute.
  • He was also cautioned for sexual harassment and disrespectful behavior towards female colleagues.
  • The cantonal police of Basel-Stadt dismissed the officer and banned him from the premises.

A police officer from the cantonal police force of Basel-Stadt has been dismissed following a deployment at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The reason for this was misconduct involving several serious incidents, according to an internal memo from police management.

As reported by the "Basler Zeitung", the officer made a gesture that was interpreted as a Hitler salute - apparently in reference to a controversial appearance by Elon Musk during a Trump event.

The police officer also sexually harassed female colleagues and violated their dignity.

The incidents were confirmed in the course of an investigation. This came to the conclusion that it was not a one-off misstep, but a fundamental attitude that was incompatible with the mission of the Basel police.

First banned from the premises, now dismissed

After the allegations came to light, the man was released from his duties and banned from the premises - now he has been dismissed with notice.

The police are not commenting on further details. It also remains unclear whether the people concerned have pressed charges. According to a spokesperson, however, they do not tolerate any discriminatory or inhumane behavior.

According to the "Basler Zeitung", the incident has hit the police at a sensitive time - the force is suffering from a lack of personnel and is under pressure to improve the internal climate.


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