After years, a tribute will be paid to police officer Ferry Bakx (45) from Rijsbergen, who was shot dead in 2016. He died on the island of Bonaire while chasing a gang of robbers. He has worked on the island since 2013. Names of police officers who died during their work in the Netherlands are added to the memorial in the Garden of Reflection in Warnsveld. Because Bonaire is a special Dutch municipality, he was initially left out.
That was a pain in the ass for family and colleagues. Telegraaf columnist John van den Heuvel from Eindhoven also campaigned for Ferry’s name to appear on the monument. Chief of Police Henk van Essen of the National Police made an official request based on ‘special circumstances’. The Garden of Reflection foundation agreed. As a result, Ferry Bakx’s name will exceptionally be added to the monument at the next ceremony.
The annual commemoration in the Garden of Reflection, founded in 2006, is on the second Thursday in June. Ferry Bax’s mother visits this commemoration every year, but as a surviving relative she cannot place a white rose at the monument because her son’s name is missing. There is a memorial for Bakx at the main office in Bonaire.
Small human gesture
John van den Heuvel lashed out in one of his columns. “There is room for five hundred names on the monument. Ferry Bakx’s name is not allowed to be included due to a nonsensical rule that is painful and hurtful not only for the surviving relatives, but for the entire Caribbean Netherlands. His name belongs on the monument. A small human gesture that certainly does not require hundreds of millions of euros.”
Ferry’s name will now be added to the monument. “So that we can permanently commemorate him there,” says Chief of Police Van Essen.
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Honorable farewell to Ferry Bakx in 2016: