Director of the Belgian airport police resigns after scandal

The director of the Belgian aviation police, Danny Elst, is stepping down due to the police crackdown at Charleroi Airport in Brussels in 2018 in which a confused Slovak traveler was killed. Belgian media report this on Saturday. It is the second high-ranking police officer to leave the field because of the scandal.

Elst has been transferred and the matter is currently under investigation. Earlier, the number two of the Belgian police, André Desenfants, decided to temporarily step aside due to the issue. Desenfants says he never saw the images, Elst was probably aware of the incident.

Three years ago, Elst also came under fire. Then it turned out that there were also abuses at the repatriation service, which he also heads. When visiting other countries, employees had visited prostitutes and were guilty of lewd behavior and alcohol abuse.

Also read: ‘The Belgian police lacks a sense of standards’

Video

The victim’s wife, Jozef Chovanec, released a video earlier this week showing her husband displaying confused behavior in the cell. The three officers then entered to restrain him. In doing so, they wrapped a blanket around him and also applied a neck clamp for minutes. A female officer gives the Hitler salute.

Chovanec was also given a sedative, but he suffered cardiac arrest and later died. The police officers’ lawyer insists that they did nothing wrong and that their actions did not result in the man’s death. Belgian politicians were shocked on the images and demanded clarification.

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