Two police officers who were prosecuted for assaulting a corona demonstrator in 2021 were acquitted this Thursday by the Central Netherlands court. The judges ruled that the officers lawfully acted against the demonstrator “within the framework of the use of force instruction.”
“In the heat of the moment, they were right to assume that the protester was aggressive and dangerous and that their intervention was necessary for the arrest,” the statement said. court.
During a hearing last month, the Public Prosecution Service announced that the two suspects, two 38-year-old police officers (a riot police officer from Rotterdam and a dog handler from The Hague), allegedly used a disproportionate amount of force in the arrest of a 39-year-old man. This man, Tim, threatened officers with a jumper cable during a demonstration on the Malieveld on March 14, 2021.
The man threatened officers with a jumper cable during a grim demonstration on the Malieveld in The Hague
The Public Prosecution Service had demanded twenty hours of community service against the dog handler. He had let his dog bite when Tim had already laid down on his stomach and was no longer resisting. With the police officer, the Public Prosecution Service took into account that he was responding to a situation caused by a colleague. The Public Prosecution Service asked to declare him guilty without imposing a penalty.
The events took place during a grim demonstration against the corona measures in The Hague. Stones and fireworks were thrown at the police, among other things. “The police warned several times that violence would be used if people stayed, but there was no response. From that moment on, the riot police and dog handlers were also ordered to act,” the court said.
Dog
The court realizes that the arrest for demonstrator Tim was “serious”. “But he had the opportunity to leave, as was loudly and clearly demanded several times. Instead, he sought confrontation and used violence against the police. The dog handler and the police officer could not leave. After all, they are expected to act correctly in a situation such as this.”
Furthermore, the court ruled that the officers acted “lawfully” in the given circumstances. “The court was able to view the moment in question from many different points of view. There are many images, including videos from bystanders, and from the bodycam that the dog handler himself wore. In addition, there are many witness statements.”
Since July 2022, one court in the Netherlands has been handling criminal cases against police officers for unlawful use of force: the so-called Blue Chamber of the Central Netherlands District Court. This tests cases against new legal rules for assessing the use of force by investigating officers. To date, the Blue Chamber has acquitted suspected officers in the vast majority of verdicts.
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