Officer should not have used police dog on Nijmegen student, says Public Prosecutor

A police officer must appear in court because his police dog bit a pro-Palestinian demonstrator during a protest at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Public Prosecutor has decided.

In early May last year, several pro-Palestinian activists entered the administration building of Radboud University Nijmegen. They demanded that the Executive Board end co-operation with Israeli institutions.

They used violence, the university said. For example, one demonstrator allegedly bit a security guard in the hand and two other employees were hit and scratched. The university then called in the police.

Offence

After consultations with the officers the activists left the building. The police wanted to arrest one of the demonstrators but met with resistance. The officers then decided to use their batons and a police dog.

One of the demonstrators was bitten in her leg by the dog for tens of seconds, causing her to suffer serious injuries. The Public Prosecutor now speaks of ‘a breach of official instructions’.

Chaotic situation

The police were indeed allowed to use means of force ‘in this chaotic and threatening situation’, the Public Prosecution Service writes, but not against this particular demonstrator. She was already on the ground and didn’t resist the police.

The police officer who deployed the dog must now answer to the court. Also, one of the demonstrators is being prosecuted for assaulting two security guards and for resisting when he was arrested.

Apologies

Student union AKKU calls it good news that the officer is being prosecuted, but says it has taken far too long. The union demands that university head Alexandra van Huffelen apologise for calling in the police.

In a press release Van Huffelen says she regrets the situation: “That one of our students became so seriously injured, is horrible. It’s a good thing that we will now have clarity on what happened exactly.”