The National Police Complaints Committee has given the Amsterdam police chief Frank Paauw a big slap on the wrist. According to the committee, Paauw ‘acted insufficiently carefully’ with his statements about the incident in which the German Sammy Baker (23) was shot dead by police officers in a confused state. In a response, Paauw now says that he was ‘too firm’.
The 23-year-old Baker was born on August 13, 2020 shot dead by the police in a courtyard garden of the Honselersdijkstraat in Nieuw-West. That happened after he was in a confused state and walked around with a knife to his throat.
Shortly after the incident, Paauw . claimed in The Parool that one of his agents was ‘stabbed in his vest by the suspect with a knife’. Baker’s parents are outraged by that statement. According to them, Paauw influenced the investigation and tried to prevent the officers in question from being prosecuted. “It would feel good if he apologized and corrected his statements, because they were wrong,” said Justine’s mother Seewald rather against AT5†
“I should have been more reserved”
The parents brought the matter before the National Police Complaints Committee, which has now ruled in favor of the parents. “The committee is of the opinion that the employee concerned (Frank Paauw, red.) used too strong terms during the interview by presenting as fact in his statement that an officer was stabbed in his (safety) vest by a suspect. By stating facts instead of, for example, citing the sources mentioned in the opinion, the employee concerned has not acted with sufficient care in this extremely sensitive matter.”
Paauw now acknowledges that he should have acted differently. “I should have been more reserved in my statement in the media shortly after the violent incident. The bottom line is that I should have said ‘towards’.”
Not damaged by knife stabs
During the handling of the complaint, Paauw admitted that the forensic investigation shows that the vest was not damaged by stabbings. But according to him, that did not mean that the vest was not hit. “Damage has been found,” said Paauw during his defence. “It is likely that this damage was caused by wear and tear. However, it cannot be ruled out that it was caused by hitting the knife.” But the committee was not convinced by this and considers its statements ‘too firm’.
Processing took too long
However, the committee “understands that the employee felt the need to come forward to nuance the storm that had arisen on social media.” Yet they find his statements careless, partly due to the high position that Paauw occupies. They also believe that the (informal) handling of the complaint took longer than prescribed by law.
The Public Prosecution Service dismissed the case against the agents, because they allegedly acted from an emergency situation. Sammy Baker’s parents have not yet responded to the committee’s ruling.
Comment Frank Paauw:
“From the moment I heard about what happened to Sammy, I sympathized and wanted to talk to the parents. They have lost their son, a great and heavy loss and I can well imagine that the parents were not ready for a conversation with me. It was only during the conversation during the complaints procedure that I was able to express my sincere condolences. I think it’s important to learn from a case like Sammy’s, precisely because of the irreversible suffering our service weapon can cause. As a portfolio holder for violent means within the police, I personally advocate the use of less heavy means of violence than the service weapon. An example of this is the now introduced electroshock weapon. I realize that my words cannot alleviate the suffering of Sammy’s parents, but as a police we will continue to make every effort to prevent the use of police violence from ending fatally.”
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