The Amsterdam police chief Frank Paauw has “acted insufficiently carefully” with statements he made in The Parool did about the death of the German Sammy Baker in 2020. That is the judgment of the National Police Complaints Committee, according to a report that was held Saturday afternoon in the hands of NRC has come. Baker, 23, was shot dead in a confused state on the street in Amsterdam in August 2020 by police officers.
The confused man, who enjoyed some fame in Germany as a fitness influencer, did indeed walk down the street in Nieuw-West with a knife and put it on his own throat. A struggle ensued with the police, after which Baker was shot. CPR was unsuccessful and the man died. The victim may have been in psychosis.
Statements against media
Shortly after the incident, Paauw told the newspaper that one of the officers on duty had been stabbed in his safety vest by Baker during the skirmish. Baker’s parents then went to the Complaints Committee, because they believed those statements were “wrong” and influenced the investigation into their son’s death.
Also read: Could the death of the confused Sammy in Amsterdam be prevented?
The Complaints Committee now agrees with the parents and says it believes that Paauw “used too strong terms during the interview”. The police chief has “acted insufficiently carefully”. The committee does not want to go so far as to speak of an ‘incorrect statement’, but considers that Paauw is not so opposed to this. The Parool should have said.
The Complaints Committee also regrets that handling the complaint took longer than prescribed by law. The Public Prosecution Service previously dismissed the case against the officers on duty, because they allegedly acted out of emergency.