The conviction of military and war veteran Marco Kroon remains standing, so has dthe Supreme Court Tuesday determined. At the end of 2020, Kroon was sentenced to 80 hours of community service on appeal for headbutting an officer, and a 120 euro fine for urinating in public. The major appealed to the Supreme Court, but his appeal was rejected.
Kroon urinated against a fence during carnival in Den Bosch in 2019 dressed as a frog. When confronted about this by a cop, he showed her his genitals and gave her a headbutt. During the appeal, the court spoke of an act that was “hurtful and insulting” to the officer. The headbutt was “seriously charged” to him, given his exemplary function as a public figure.
According to Kroon, parts of the court’s ruling were incomprehensible, but the Supreme Court did not agree. According to the Council, the judgments of the court were ‘sufficiently reasoned’.
Drinking beer
In the appeal, Kroon had argued, among other things, that he had to contend with urological problems, which forced him to pee against the fence. According to him, the municipality of Den Bosch had not done enough to meet its duty of care by providing sufficient sanitary facilities. The court did not follow suit and stated that Kroon could have taken his own circumstances into account, for example by drinking less beer.
Kroon also said that disproportionate force had been used during his arrest and that the official reports about the headbutt were unreliable. However, the court found that “nothing illegal” can be seen on the images and that the images support what is stated in the official reports drawn up by the officers.
The prosecution of Kroon was a reason for the Ministry of Defense to take disciplinary measures. In May 2020, he was banned for 17 months. Kroon, bearer of the Military William Order, will no longer be eligible for a higher rank in the future.