Neighbors of the man who was arrested in Empel on Wednesday evening have no idea why the man was taken from his bed with such a show of force. Residents of about ten homes in the street had to leave their homes.
A lot of consternation for the residents of the Watermunt in Empel. Residents near the address where the police were about to raid had to leave the house quickly.
Neighbor Tamara was already in bed when the doorbell rang. “We got the children out of bed and left immediately,” she says the next morning. “I thought, ‘Oh dear, what we did wrong.’ But it was about the neighbor. Even the dog had to go outside.” The police did not explain why they had to leave their home.
“He came over for coffee with us once and I never felt unsafe for a second.”
Local residents across the street did not have to leave their homes. “We suddenly saw an entire police force in the street. That was very frightening. We could see everything from above. How the man was talked out of his house with a megaphone, how he had to take off his pants and was given a blindfold.” The neighbor across the street has no idea what the man has done.
The neighbor is described as a slightly older man who kept to himself. “A few months ago there was already the police. Then his employer was afraid that he was dead in the house. But he was sick in bed.” Furthermore, they have never experienced any nuisance from the man.
Another local resident had already had the man for coffee. “I thought he was a very sweet and pure man. He has lived here for a year now and was very private. He came for coffee with us once and I never felt unsafe for a second. For us he was a normal man with whom you could just talk.”
The woman especially feels sorry for the man that he has been taken away with such a show of power. “I always assume the best of people.”
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