Last night, a police officer hit a 17-year-old boy in Rotterdam full in the face. The agent in question calls this “disproportionate” afterwards and has apologized, along with his supervisor.
Police came to a report of serious noise pollution in the north of the city, a spokesman said. It concerned a group of about 200 young people who had already been sent away somewhere earlier in the day. According to the police, they had then gathered for a demonstration that looked like a “dance event”.
On the spot, the police came across a parked car with a sound system that played loud music. The young people were told to leave, but they did not comply, according to the police. According to a police spokesman, the atmosphere then became grim: the young people became “aggressive” and would have called police officers. The police then used the baton, charges and arrests were carried out.
The 17-year-old boy in question, who is from Utrecht, then interfered with the arrests, say the police. Images on social media show that the boy has an altercation with one of the officers, who is currently engaged in an arrest. The officer tells the boy to go back. Then a second officer arrives, who forces the boy to walk to the back. The boy complies with this and walks away from the officer.
He then gives the boy a push and a heavy slap in the face. As a result, the 17-year-old falls to the ground, after which the policeman drags him up the sidewalk. There he holds him down with one knee on his back and neck. The boy is eventually arrested together with four others.
‘Overreacted’
“The officer in question, together with his supervisor, contacted the boy the next day. He says he reacted too strongly and calls the blow he gave disproportionate,” said the report. a reaction from the police. The case against the boy, who was arrested for insult, has been dropped.
A spokesperson confirms to the NOS that an internal investigation has also been started into the incident, as the protocol prescribes. According to the police, it is still “too early” to say whether the violence will lead to a suspension.
Images of the incident circulate on social media:
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