The Public Prosecution Service (OM) will conduct a criminal investigation into the actions of a police officer during a check on a wedding party in Ruinerwold. The control got out of hand, after which the officer used a baton.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, there are indications that the force used by the officer was “disproportionate” and “probably contrary to the use of force instructions for police officers”.
In August last year, things went wrong at De Perenhoeve in Ruinerwold, when two boas, with the support of two police officers, came to take a look at the 40th wedding anniversary of Nico and Ginette Westenbrink. They celebrated their anniversary with about thirty people.
The family did not want to allow all boas and police officers onto the property, but only one inspector. The altercation then turned into a confrontation. The daughter of the family broke her arm because she was hit with a baton by an officer. Nico Westenbrink had to spend a night in a police cell.
The police later apologized for the actions in Ruinerwold and said that they should have acted differently. The Public Prosecution Service has recently heard witnesses and viewed camera images. The prosecutor says – for now – that the officer’s violence went too far. “That is why the investigation is now shifting from a factual investigation to a criminal investigation.” The police officer is therefore now seen as a suspect by the Public Prosecution Service.
It is not yet clear whether the officer will also be prosecuted and therefore have to appear in court. The Public Prosecution Service will only make a decision about this after the investigation. A second officer was also investigated, but according to the public prosecutor, he acted lawfully.