German police said today (Nov. 22) they will not open an investigation into Michael Jackson for holding his baby son over a fourth-floor balcony railing earlier this week, saying there was no evidence of any crime. Police said they had reviewed Jackson’s actions after seeing pictures of the incident involving the youngest of his three children, Prince Michael II.
“The actions are not punishable,” police spokesperson Norbert Gunkel said. Berlin prosecutors also said that they did not consider the incident a crime and were not investigating.
Jackson briefly dangled the boy from the balcony of his hotel room on Tuesday, apparently after fans below begged to have a look at the child. The London and New York tabloids were particularly critical, labeling Jackson a “Wacko” and a “Mad Bad Dad” — even demanding his arrest for reckless endangerment. Fans waiting outside his hotel shrugged off the controversy, and on Wednesday held up a sign reading “Burn All the Tabloids.”
Jackson was in Berlin to receive a special honor as “pop artist of the millennium” at the Bambi entertainment gala in Berlin. He received the award last night from tennis star Boris Becker. “Berlin, ich liebe dich” (Berlin, I love you),” Jackson said to the crowd of hundreds of invited guests. “A city so full of energy — it’s very special to me.”
He didn’t refer to the baby incident. In a written statement Tuesday, Jackson said he had made a “terrible mistake” but stressed: “I would never intentionally endanger the lives of my children.”
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