Central Netherlands court ruling in police case
On 27 January 2025, the “blue chamber” of the Central Netherlands District Court discharged a police officer, assisted by Floris Dudok van Heel, from all prosecution in a criminal case related to a shooting incident on 13 May 2023 in Rotterdam, in which the police officer fired five shots at a speeding car.
The court ruled that the police officer was entitled to use her firearm and that, in the circumstances, she acted ‘in the lawful performance of her duties and in accordance with the instructions on the use of force’. Given the danger the police officer was convinced the driver of the car posed, she was entitled to use her repelling powers by initially firing twice at the driver’s door from a short distance in response to the driver’s (alleged) reaching for a gun in his waistband. Also with the subsequent shots, despite the associated risk to the occupants, the police officer acted reasonably and moderately in accordance with the requirements of proportionality and subsidiarity, according to the court:
“Suspect wanted to stop the car so that the driver could be apprehended. Indeed, he had driven away during an attempted stop for possible involvement in explosions and, the defendant believed, was carrying a firearm ready for use. The accused aimed at the tyres and stopped firing within six seconds because she saw that she was unable to stop the car. She factored into her consideration to shoot that there were no other people nearby at the time who could possibly be hit. The court is of the opinion that under those special circumstances, the defendant’s actions were proportionate to the danger posed by the driver of the car and to the overriding (public) interest in apprehending that driver in this case.”
Read the full court ruling here: https://deeplink.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak?id=ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2025:165