Seven police officers are set to stand trial in January next year over the death of a 32-year-old man who was held in a prolonged prone position on the ground after being tasered during an arrest in Rotterdam in the summer of 2023, the public prosecution department announced on Thursday.
The high-profile legal proceedings, which are scheduled to begin early next year, stem from a tragic sequence of events that unfolded on June 9, 2023. According to the public prosecution department, known in the Netherlands as the OM, the incident began when two police officers spotted the 32-year-old man and initiated a pursuit, first chasing him in a police van and subsequently on foot. The officers had targeted the man following reports that he had been involved in a minor traffic incident, specifically that he had crashed his bicycle into a parked car and then deliberately cycled away from the scene without stopping or exchanging details.
As the pursuit continued on foot, the man allegedly ignored direct instructions and commands given by the law enforcement officers. In an attempt to subdue and apprehend him, one of the pursuing officers deployed a taser device. However, the electrical discharge failed to incapacitate the suspect or prevent him from continuing to resist the officers. As the situation escalated, additional police units arrived at the location to provide backup. Several officers converged on the man, eventually managing to pin him down onto the pavement.
The suspect was kept restrained on the ground for a significant duration of time. Soon after being subdued in what investigators later categorized as a prone position—lying face down—the man suddenly became unwell and lost consciousness. Recognizing the gravity of the medical emergency, the officers immediately initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) while waiting for emergency medical services to arrive. Despite these life-saving efforts at the scene, the man was rushed to a hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead.
Following the fatality, the national internal investigations body, the Rijksrecherche—an independent agency tasked with investigating criminal offenses involving police officers and other government officials—launched a comprehensive inquiry into the conduct of the law enforcement personnel present during the arrest. The resulting investigative file was handed over to prosecutors, including a critical medical report from a forensic pathologist. The pathologist concluded that the man’s sudden and tragic death could have been directly caused by the specific way he was restrained on the ground by the officers, particularly the prolonged pressure applied while he was held in the prone position.
In February 2024, the public prosecution department initially announced its intention to prosecute a total of eight officers in connection with the arrest and subsequent death. However, in the latest update released on Thursday, the OM confirmed that it had formally dropped the case against one of the eight original suspects. Prosecutors explained that this particular officer was still undergoing professional training at the time of the incident and was acting strictly in accordance with instructions given by senior colleagues, clearing him of individual criminal liability.
Consequently, seven officers now face criminal charges. They are accused of breaching established legal regulations and guidelines concerning the use of force, specifically with fatal consequences. Under Dutch law, this particular legal violation has been recognized as a distinct criminal offense in its own right since July 2022, providing a specific statutory framework for holding law enforcement personnel accountable when excessive or improper physical force leads to a fatality.
The judicial proceedings for the seven accused officers will take place before a specialized tribunal. The case has been assigned to the Blauwe Kamer, a special court based in Utrecht that is specifically designated to handle sensitive legal cases involving police officers and allegations of excessive use of force by state authorities. The court has scheduled the hearings to commence on January 19, with subsequent sessions planned across several days from February 15 to February 18. The special court is expected to deliberate on all seven individual cases concurrently and will deliver its rulings on all defendants at the same time once the trials conclude.
This impending trial arrives against a backdrop of ongoing public and institutional scrutiny regarding police arrest methods and accountability in the Netherlands, and particularly within the port city of Rotterdam. The sensitivities surrounding police custody deaths and restraint techniques have been further amplified by another recent tragedy in the city.
In September, another Rotterdam resident, 51-year-old Alfredo Goeloe, died during the course of an arrest after collapsing while police officers held him down on the ground. That incident triggered widespread public concern, community tension, and subsequent street protests in Rotterdam as local residents demanded answers and accountability regarding the circumstances of his death. The Rijksrecherche has also opened an independent investigation into the death of Mr. Goeloe to determine whether the officers involved adhered to professional standards and lawful procedures.
As the legal date for the January trial approaches, the upcoming hearings in the Blauwe Kamer are expected to draw significant national attention, serving as a critical examination of police training, the practical application of force during turbulent street arrests, and the legal boundaries governing the use of prone position restraint by law enforcement officers in the Netherlands.
