Belgian Police Officer of Moroccan Descent Assaulted During Arrest, Criticizes Judicial Response

The facts took place in Saint-Josse last weekend. "There was a group of migrants standing in front of a business that, according to the Covid measures, must close its doors at 8 p.m. Only one of the migrants was not wearing his mask. I pointed it out to him. In a provocative manner, he pretended to take it out of his pocket before continuing on his way and going to attack the only Belgian in the neighborhood who had just placed an order in a snack bar. I saw that he was trying to assault him. I found it disgusting that he was attacking this person," recounts F., the policewoman, to La Dernière Heure.

She confides that it was at that moment that she wanted to intervene. She was far from imagining what she was going to face. "He called me in Arabic a dirty b**** before adding that he was going to slit my throat. I asked him to repeat so I was sure I understood. He repeated exactly what he had just said. I then wanted to proceed with his arrest and there he hit me. He gave me several kicks. Meanwhile, his friends were pulling on my bulletproof vest to prevent me from catching him. He was repeating: I’m the man, not you!" continues the victim.

In the aftermath, the one who already has 21 years of experience calls her colleagues for backup because she was unable to subdue her aggressor. "It was difficult for me to fight against him because he was hitting with all his might but I didn’t want to give up. At one point, he put his hand on my weapon. This is a gesture that all police officers dread. Fortunately, my security system was activated and he therefore failed to get hold of it," adds the policewoman. On their arrival at the scene, the other police officers managed to subdue the individual.

After his arrest, he was presented to the Brussels public prosecutor’s office. Contrary to all expectations, he was released with an order to leave the territory after being heard by the magistrate. "It was total amazement. With the current context, we are constantly being told that we are targets, we the police, and here is how the judicial system reacts. (...) What he did to me, he won’t hesitate to do to others, police or not," the policewoman indignantly, unable to work for several days.