The Public Prosecution Service (OM) concluded on Monday that the officer who shot a 24-year-old woman dead in Groningen in May used his weapon lawfully. According to the judiciary, the man rightly feared for the life of his colleague.
The police officer had no other option to avert the danger, the Public Prosecution Service concluded.
The incident took place in the night of 26 to 27 May on the Helperzoom in Groningen. The boyfriend of the 24-year-old woman reported it to the police because she had threatened him with a knife. The man had therefore fled the house. The woman had also injured herself and used “the necessary means”, writes the judiciary.
The woman did not open the door, whereupon the police forced the door. The two officers found the woman in the bathroom. She grabbed the knife and “went threateningly after one of the police officers.” At the moment she bent over with the knife, close to that officer, the other officer shot the woman once.
The officer felt compelled to shoot. The 24-year-old woman from Groningen was seriously injured and died shortly afterwards.
Conclusions ‘do not detract from tragic incident’
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the National Criminal Investigation Department has investigated the events extensively. For example, several police officers and others have been heard as witnesses. The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) has also conducted a pathological and toxicological investigation. Images from the bodycam of one of the police officers have also been analyzed.
The conclusions of the Public Prosecution Service “do not detract from the tragedy of the incident,” says the justice department. “A young woman has died, and her family will have to live with that. This also applies to the police officers involved. Although the use of the weapon was lawful, this incident has also made a deep impression on them.”
