Running away from the police is never wise. This became apparent again on Wednesday in the court in Den Bosch. Tim O. (35) from Sint Hubert was arrested by the police at his ex, but ran away when an alcohol test turned out wrong. During the chase, O. pushed a police car against a tree. Three officers were slightly injured.
Tim O. himself had a completely different lecture in court. He knew nothing about alcohol fumes on Saturday, November 8, and he also experienced the chase very differently. “I hadn’t had anything to drink, but I panicked,” he explained his flight. “And that police car drove through the side of the road on the left and into me. I didn’t see them hit a tree, otherwise I would have stopped.”
The judge noted that Tim already had a nice criminal record. His aggression and attitude towards the police were particularly striking. When Tim ended up in a police cell two days after the chase, he went on a rampage when he had to go to an observation cell. He kicked, scratched and bit the officers and did not want to be handcuffed.
“I was panicking,” Tim O. stated again. “I have been in such a cell before and absolutely did not want to go there. I resisted but I did not kick or bite.” And Tim O. talked about panic more often. According to him, he was not himself during the chase and he now regretted that.
But the question remained throughout the hearing whether that regret is very convincing. He already has several (suspended) sentences to his name and is far from cooperating in discussions with the probation service or the implementation of a community service order. That is why the probation service also recommended that he receive a sentence without conditions, because he does not comply with it. O. slept with his ex, even though he had a contact and location ban due to domestic violence.
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Tim O. has been in prison for four months now and he is not happy with it. He gave his parents’ house as his address, but he actually had no permanent place of residence before he ended up in jail. He worked all over the country and slept everywhere, including in his car. And that is also worrying, the court found, which sought appropriate help for Tim O.
Because Tim O. sees everything differently than the police or the probation service and does not actually cooperate in anything. “And if your attitude towards the government and, for example, exes does not change, we will probably see you again soon,” predicted one of the judges, especially because the suspended sentences are now piling up.
According to the public prosecutor, the time for help for Tim or suspended sentences is now over. She chose to impose a prison sentence on O. only to make it clear that the limit has been reached. “Since 2024, he has a lot of criminal offenses to his name, such as driving under the influence and domestic violence. This is not the behavior of a normally functioning adult,” she said. She did not believe that Tim is really motivated to do things differently in the future and hopes that the long prison sentence will make Tim think about it.
After some calculations, she eventually demanded a prison sentence of nine months for all the facts. In addition, as far as the officer is concerned, Tim O. must do without a driver’s license for twenty months.
The verdict in this case is on March 18.
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