On Thursday, the Public Prosecution Service was declared inadmissible by the Rotterdam court because of “abhorrent” racism by the police in the prosecution of a father and a son. They were charged with committing violence against police officers. The suspects became involved in a fight with three police officers in Dordrecht on Sinterklaas evening 2020.
According to the court, racist actions by the police “grossly jeopardized the suspect’s right to a fair hearing of his case”. The judges blame the police and the Public Prosecution Service for initially concealing in the official report that 53-year-old police officer Wouter-Jan O. called a suspect a “cunt negro”. The court speaks of “a disgusting discriminatory statement”.
The racism came to light through recordings from a neighborhood camera that hung near a flat. The officers did not know they were being filmed. The state of affairs only became clear to the Public Prosecution Service after further investigation was conducted into the images of the incident, because NRC published about it.
Also read: Rotterdam police again discredited for racism
Jail sentence demanded
Last month, prosecutor Dedy Woei-a-Tsoi demanded a further 228 days in prison for fighting cops, of which 90 days were suspended against the 46-year-old father. His 19-year-old son was sentenced to 172 hours of community service.
But the court is opinion that the officers acted way too hard in the arrest of the two suspects. “By successively applying disproportionate violence, making a racist statement and only investigating those statements further after persistent urging by the defense, several norms have been violated, including the integrity of investigation and truth-finding. The seriousness of this and the importance associated with it need no further explanation. That is the foundation on which the Dutch criminal process is built,” said the court. Earlier, the police judge sentenced the agent Wouter-Jan O. to a fine of 250 euros for insulting.
A horribly discriminatory statement
Court of Rotterdam about the officer’s statement
‘horse cock’
The fight started on Sinterklaas evening 2020 because an officer wanted to arrest someone – not one of the two suspects – who had yelled “horse cock” at him. That scolding was “inappropriate,” says the court. “The police should be treated with respect and should be able to carry out their important duty of service undisturbed.”
But the police response is unacceptable because of the racism and violence. By ‘covering up’ cases, the criminal process is no longer fair and inadmissibility must follow, according to the court. †
Lawyer Justin Kötter, who represented father and son, calls the verdict “a particularly fair decision that does justice to a long battle that my clients had to fight. An inadmissibility of the Public Prosecution Service is now virtually non-existent, but the court here makes a clear statement against abhorrent discriminatory action by the police.”
According to a spokesperson, the Public Prosecution Service is “disappointed” and is looking at whether an appeal will be lodged. The three officers had also demanded thousands of euros in tangible and intangible damages. Those claims have been dismissed.
Also read this interview with deputy chief of police Liesbeth Huyzer: From now on, there is a threat of dismissal for racist cops