At the end of November last year, a 26-year-old man from Kosovo was behind the wheel of a car that was being chased by a number of police cars. The driver drove so fast and so dangerously on the A27 and A58 highways that three officers were afraid they would not survive the chase. The court in Breda takes this seriously and imposed a prison sentence of one year on the man. The Kosovar must also pay two officers compensation of more than 900 euros.
For the public prosecutor it was also a done deal: the man tried to ram two police cars during the chase and he drove faster than 200 kilometers per hour. “He had complete disregard for authority and the lives of others,” the officer stated and demanded two and a half years in prison.
The court found this too harsh, because it did not consider attempted manslaughter proven. Like the justice system, the judge was of the opinion that the man was also involved in two thefts in fire stations and the theft of license plates.
The Kosovan, who works as a dock worker in Germany, denied that he played an active role and even that he drove. That was really someone else, he claimed. But he did not want to say who during the hearing. In any case, it was not a 23-year-old German, who was also taken to court two weeks ago. According to the public prosecutor and the court, the men had traveled from Germany to the Netherlands to commit thefts. The Kosovar insisted that this was not the case: he just wanted to ‘chill out a bit.’
Thefts
According to the judge, they stole electric cutting shears from fire stations in the Limburg towns of Weert and Nederweert. In Breda they removed the license plates from a car to attach them to their car. They then drove on to Raamsdonksveer where they also wanted to strike at a company that made hydraulic tools. They were disturbed by an alarm going off, prompting police to hunt them down. A chase ensued, driving at 70 kilometers per hour within built-up areas. On highways the speed limit was even 207 kilometers per hour.
In Belgium, the police received help from their Belgian colleagues who stopped the getaway car with a spike mat. Two occupants were then arrested in a meadow. They were sentenced on Monday. The Kosovar will therefore go to prison for a year; the German received a prison sentence of six months. He was only convicted for involvement in the (attempted) thefts.
YOU WILL ALSO WANT TO READ THIS:
Officers escaped death during wild chase: 2.5 years in prison demanded
To pursue or not: it remains a dilemma for the police every time