Police brutality in Molenbeek: Cop kicks cuffed suspect in the head
demorgen.be/nieuws/politiegeweld-in-molenbeek...
demorgen.bePosted May 21, 2019, 6:30 PM UTC
56123
demorgen.beCop would go unpunished if no one videotaped it...
22
Well the victim didn't file a complaint, would be hard to be punished then.
6
The other cops are not obliged to report (anonymously) if they are witness to a crime?
7
Everyone is.
1
So what's your point?
1
Some things are only prosecuted when a complaint is filed. For some crimes, a complaint is even necessary (such as stalking). For most crimes, though, a prosecutor can attempt to bring almost any crime to court, regardless of whether or not the victim filed a complaint.
1
Ah yes, let's go to the police when we are mistreated by the police.
Wait a second...
0
If you have a complaint against the police you make a complaint with comité p, that's not the police.
3
Wow, what a turd. It looks like the third cop hurries up to stop the skinhead from bashing that guy's skull... Good thing these other cops basically protected the suspect from him.
20
Ongestudeerde machtsgeile mensen in een opgefokte situatie waar 9/10 wekelijks dezelfde mensen worden opgepakt zonder gevolg.
20
[deleted]
1
Regardless of your personal state at the moment, police officers should be there to correctly enforce the law and nothing more. If you can't handle yourself when a suspect (?) is on the ground already, you are not a good fit for our police force.
17
If you can't handle yourself when a suspect (?) is on the ground already, you are not a good fit for our police force.
That disqualifies almost all officers. Either they can't handle themselves or they condone and cover for colleagues that can't.
I'm trying to avoid going all ACAB here, but police glossing over unnecessary acts of violence on their part is something almost all officers do.
-7
I'm trying to avoid going all ACAB here
You called?
0
Hehehe, thanks for fighting the good fight.
I try to keep my radical politics off this account, which I why I won't go out of my way to yell ACAB.
Unless, of course, to say that All Cats Are Beautiful.
0†
All cats are indeed beautiful :3
3
An arrest in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean got out of hand last night. A film that appeared shows how a policeman kicks a confined suspect on the head twice. The chief of police has put the policeman on hold. Mayor Catherine Moureaux (PS) asks for a quick sanction.
In the video you can see how a man is restrained by a policeman. When a second officer arrives, he kicks the suspect twice on the head. After that he gives him another punch. In the meantime, his colleague tries to calm down the officer in question.
The spokeswoman of the Brussels-West police has no knowledge of a complaint from the victim, but on the basis of the scattered images an official report has been drawn up against the officer and an internal investigation has been started.
The video is said to have been recorded during an intervention in the Pastorijstraat in Molenbeek on the night of 20 to 21 May, according to La Dernière Heure.
Mayor Catherine Moureaux (PS) promised a quick investigation and a sanction on Twitter. "The violence in this intervention is unacceptable", she says. "I ask that the agent concerned be brought before the court and that there be an immediate sanction." According to the mayor, the arrest followed a chase after a theft.
https://twitter.com/catmoureaux/status/1130859433658003461
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
15
[deleted]
11
Report it.
7
Do what you feel is right.
If you want to live in a society where the people who are meant to protect it don't kick restrained citizens, then report it.
Ultimately, you're reporting what you saw, not passing judgment. Someone who is qualified 'might' do that after a thorough investigation. You never know.
But just do what you think is right.
6
I’m sad you even have to ask this question here to be honest. You should at least report it. I would have commented there on the spot. I would yell jow why the fuck are you kicking him you cunt. I would make a scene 100%.
3
[removed]
1
[deleted]
-10
Damn what the fuck, ignorant me thought this shit only happened in the US
9
Ignorant indeed
15
I thought so too, until I filmed 2 cops kicking a sleeping homeless guy on the sidewalk. They basically threathened me to delete the video while holding their weapons & blocked me from going away, couldn’t believe this shit.
6
Livestream it next time.
2
I keep telling everyone...
2
That cop should be arrested and charged with assault. I mean there was no reason to do this.
I support harsher punishments for when people attack police, but also harsher punishment for when the police themsleves break the law.
7
Home sweet home
5
That's what police do.
4
Not very smart. Usually when police wants to use violence on irritating suspects, they "accidentally" drop them or "accidentally" push their head against the edge of the police vehicle when placing them in the back.
4
Not surprising. Many many police hot heads in the "bad" communes of Belgium. I have heard many stories about police violence in my social circles and have experienced it myself. I'm just glad someone actually filmed it this time. Usually the victims are not believed or assumed to have deserved it.
I mean don't get me wrong, most of my interactions with police have been courteous or even pleasant. But there's a sizeable minority of violent fuckers who bash skulls with impunity.
3
This cop votes, btw.
3
I told y'all.
Als ik deze shit neerschrijf: downvotes en "das echt wel ver gezocht hoor, je zoekt het zelf uit".
r/belgium als het gebeurt en gefilmd is: WOW WTF CRISIS!
2
En binnen een dag of twee zullen ze hier weer allemaal doen alsof politiegeweld niet bestaat.
1
Yep, de politie is er toch enkel om de wetten te volgen.
2
Bald neo nazi looking ass ✓
I wonder who this guy would vote for...
2
ACAB
2
[removed]
1
You have the right to remai... how about my foot up your ass. -red.
1†
Oof, thats no bueno
So on reddit you always read about those US cops getting a slap on the wrist, or paid leave, or early retirement. What, would you say, does this guy risk, in Belgium? Never really hear much about stuff like this around here, do we?
Comité P is supposed to deal with stuff like this and sanction the officers. Good luck if you don't have video evidence.
The Committee P only investigates stuff; it doesn't take any sanctions as the organ doesn't have any (direct) disciplinary powers. Disciplinary power lies with the overseeing executive authority of the police unit (being the police commissioner and mayor of Molenbeek). They'll also only investigate police misconduct if the police unit in question seems to be unable or unwilling to hold a proper internal investigation.
Well there's even less chance of disciplinary measures then
The prosecutor's office is independent of the police, so they can prosecute the police officer in question without any qualms for "slagen en verwondingen"/"coups et blessures".
Some nuance, though. Prosecutors often work rather closely with the police and rely mostly on the police to do a variety of actions, such as gathering information, making arrests, checking up on parole, etc.
I don't mean to say that the prosecutor's office isn't independent but they do have incentives of keeping a good working relationship with the police.
Is that likely? If they do, is a sentence likely and what would he be facing? Not trying to be snarky, I legitimately have 0 idea how police brutality is handled in Belgium.
I dunno, enter terms like "politieagent veroordeeld voor slagen" in google news and read some articles that pop up. Or read the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
I checked a few cases. And apparently in the last 5 years there are a scary amount of cops in Antwerp prosecuted. I found a case two cops got 7 year for the rape of a woman. 2 cops getting 10 months for excessive force on a teen, another cop got 4 years for almost choking someone he arrested to death and it seems that some cops got sentences for torturing and extorting sans papiers.
A couple of years ago a video surfaced in which a group of antwerp cops go into a cell of an arrested, mentally ill person, and kick him to death. I never heard of any real punishment for those cops. So I assume this guy might get a slap on the wrist and a 'look for cameras next time silly boy'
Are you talking about the "bottinekes"? They were definitly prosecuted: https://m.hln.be/nieuws/binnenland/bottinekes-in-beroep-strenger-veroordeeld-voor-dood-jonathan-jacob~a32fca88/
Iirc, they later tried to go to cassatie, but their request was denied
Like I said, no real punishment.
Except they did get punished and they didn’t ‘kick’ him to death.
https://m.hln.be/nieuws/binnenland/bottinekes-in-beroep-strenger-veroordeeld-voor-dood-jonathan-jacob~a32fca88/
You should try claiming your bs in het HLN commentaar vak. Nobody will doubt you there.
Everytime a comment makes me go "what? That's not true at all" it's you. Must be fun making your own shit up all the time.
To be fair I doubt most people would see 9 maanden met uitstel as real punishment on this sub.
https://m.hln.be/nieuws/binnenland/bottinekes-in-beroep-strenger-veroordeeld-voor-dood-jonathan-jacob~a32fca88/
I wish I was making this shit up.
He's either a victim from someone doing the same to him/her or he's trying to stir up shit with those too lazy to do research and follow blindly. It warms my heart to see people like this being called out.
Could you arrest a colleague for this on the spot or is reporting the incident your only option?
That has to be the best best way to ensure you never work another day. For all your good intentions, you have to remember that you still have to work with your fellow officers every day. I'd like to not risk becoming a pariah
Nah man, leave that up to IA. They can have my statement. That should do just fine.
Thx for your honest answer but thats actually appaling.
I mean that guy could be dead looking at those kicks to the head and the rest of the police there just let it happen.
Yeah, that comment really manages to pin down exactly why ACAB is a saying. Complicity in these sorts of cases.
Cops stick together, that's the problem.
It would be funny though, to see 20 officers all in cuffs. "Yeah, one arrested another, then a third got pissed and cuffed the second guy and so on".
I'm curious, what do you think as a cop of internal investigations of unnecessary violence against citizens? How does the average colleague react to this?
Cases like this and Jonathan Jacob get a lot of media attention, but it's hard to say as an outsider what happens to police officers internally (colleague relationships, punishments, ...).
I was doing a police internship when the Jonathan Jacob video got first published. The go-to mode for police officers is defending their colleagues. They assumed the video wasn't showing the whole picture, or that the officers in the video were making the best possible judgments given the situation, or went for the more general: "we're doing a hard job and shouldn't be judged by outsiders when mistakes are made."
Wow. So how far can a colleague's assault go before you treat him like the (temporary) threat to public safety he is? Can he keep punching until the victim goes unconscious? After that, can he still keep going? Can he use his stick? Can he use a knife as well? His gun?
That's just absurd. Ofc he'll be stopped and pulled away. But this is short and quick, over before you realise what just happened. Piling on him and starting a fight to get handcuffs on etc doesn't do anything that can't be achieved by just calling your superior and reporting what happened
You're condoning breaking the law 'meldplicht' to save corrupt officers' faces here. That seems no bueno.
No I'm not, but you purposefully snipped out the next sentence where I report misconduct to the powers that be.
About removing his shoes: is that a standard procedure of some kind, or did they only wanted to see if he hide something there? Just curious, I haven't yet seen cops doing that after cuffing a thief on the street
Family common. Depends on howwmuch time you have and how safe it is for a thorough search
[deleted]
Did somebody saaaaaaay bueeeeenoooooooooooooooooooooooooo????????
Why was I certain to find a kind and empathetic comment towards the victims of arbitrary violence on top on the thread as soon as I read the title?
Because if f*cking normal
To punch a cuffed youngster in the head, while being prevented by pretty much every national and international law on the subject?
That would make you the criminal.