The 21-year-old son of Hilversummer George van Dijk was allegedly assaulted by the police during a night out. That happened two weeks ago. Van Dijk, a well-known ex-criminal, has reported attempted manslaughter. “He was treated harder because he is my son, I’m sure.”
It was an ordinary, pleasant night out at the Groest in Hilversum on the night of January 13 to 14. But on Sunday morning around 5 a.m. there were some disturbances, which the son of Hilversummer George van Dijk would not soon forget.
One of those riots broke out in front of a sushi restaurant. “A group of boys had an argument with each other, they were acquaintances of my son,” Van Dijk begins. His son, whose name he prefers not to appear in the media, is, according to Van Dijk, ‘quite a sturdy boy’. He is 1.95 meters tall and weighs about 100 kilos.
“He told the boys to keep it nice. When the police came they thought my son was having an argument with the group. That’s when the fuss started.”
Hard push
A moment later his son walked towards another group. Another fight, this time between two girls. One of those girls is an acquaintance of his and he wanted to know what was going on. “Suddenly a big guy, aged 20/21, came and gave one of those ladies a hard push. My son obviously didn’t think that was okay, so he pushed him back. He then wanted to run away, but was then grabbed by his hood.”
According to Van Dijk, his son thought it was that boy. He wanted to lash out, but when he turned around it turned out to be a cop. “They dragged him over a table and hit him in the face with batons. They then shot him twice with an electroshock weapon.”
“He was so badly damaged. I have photos of him, you really don’t want to see them.”
He felt the right side of his face “burning terribly and bleeding profusely,” Van Dijk said. “He got down on his knees with his hands behind his neck and said: okay boys, it’s okay. It really took him by surprise, he had never experienced anything like that before. Then about seven of them hit him with rubber batons. “He was so badly damaged, I have photos of him, you really don’t want to see them.”
The boy had to be taken to the station and was kept there for a few hours. “His face was bleeding like a bovine and no one did anything. Finally, an acquaintance of mine took him to the hospital. There he got stitches in his face.”
According to Van Dijk, his son was lucky. “The injuries were right next to his eye socket and near his temple. He could have gone blind, or worse.”
‘Not a sweetheart’
Van Dijk himself used to be ‘not a sweetheart either’, he says. “I have been convicted before and I have always served those sentences properly, because whoever burns his buttocks has to sit on the blisters. But there is really no harm in my son. And then they catch him.”
He says he is sure that the police will tackle his son harder, purely because it is his son. “They know it’s a Van Dijk, so he immediately gets a stamp. That’s really not fair. He’s a completely different guy than me. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Orientation research
The Public Prosecution Service announces that an exploratory investigation is now underway. A spokesperson says: “During the night of January 13 to 14, there were several disturbances on the Groest. The police responded and a baton was also used. We are now investigating what exactly happened and are looking into what happened. whether there will be a criminal investigation.”
In any case, Van Dijk hopes that the officers who assaulted his son will be punished. He reported the incident to the police station in Huizen. “If I had done something that was not proper in the past, I was also punished for that. Then they should do the same.”
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