The customers just left half an hour ago. He is behind the bar cleaning the glasses. It’s half past two in the morning. He hopes to be home in half an hour. But then.
He hears it as a dull sound. Suddenly bricks fall off the wall, straight onto the bowling alley. It takes a few seconds for the penny to drop.
Arjan Jonkman, owner of Pinz Bowling in Meppel, describes it as a special situation. Surreal and bizarre, are two other words he uses for it. A car hit the facade of the bowling alley last night. A 51-year-old man from Emmen has been arrested for this. He was under the influence of alcohol, had narcotics on him, resisted arrest “quite aggressively” according to police and tried to get away.
After the penny has dropped, he immediately calls the emergency services. Jonkman steps out. He suspects to find someone who needs help. Nothing is less true. And he doesn’t really end up in a friendly state either. The 51-year-old man, with a female passenger, tries to drive away. It does not work.
“It goes from bad to worse after that.” The Emmenaar asks not to call the police. “I can already hear sirens coming from everywhere,” the owner of Pinz describes the situation. The suspect appears aggressive.
“You sometimes see police chases on television. That someone is violently arrested. Well, it was such a scenario here too.”