According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Cologne police have recently launched an investigation to find those who had spread the "secret" information without permission. The authorities want to examine how internal reports could reach the public.
"A collection of materials is currently underway, the police are carrying out an internal investigation," a spokesman for the Cologne prosecution office said.
The newspaper argued that the police officer who revealed the real state of affairs during New Year's Eve celebrations in Cologne has not hurt the police, but rather stood it in a good stead.
"The damage has been caused by those who told the tales out of opportunistic motives and presented the reality in a distorted way. They have caused the damage not only to the police, but to the public as well," the article said, adding that the officer who exposed the Cologne attacks should be considered a "hero".
On New Year's Eve, hundreds of women in the German city of Cologne were robbed and sexually assaulted by groups of aggressive men, believed to be mostly of Arab and North African origin. The attacks revealed the inefficiency of German law enforcement services and caused heavy criticism among the public.
