An officer who launched Denisa into a wall with the water cannon during the curfew riots is being prosecuted by the Justice Department. This happened on 24 January, 2021 in the centre of Eindhoven.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM) the actions were not proportional, so is the verdict after an investigation by the National Criminal Investigation Department. That is what Omroep Brabant writes.
In the centre of Eindhoven things got completely out of hand that Sunday. A large group of rioters sought confrontation with the police. They left a trail of destruction behind, among others on 18 Septemberplein and on Eindhoven Central Station.
The prosecution believes that the officer who operated the water cannon did not act according to the applicable instruction. “The aim of the officer’s action was to stop the man who had a chain lock in his hands. Weighing all the circumstances, the conclusion is that this was too heavy a means of violence for this situation”, the prosecutor let us know.
“The water thrower is not meant to be aimed at individuals like this. A less radical means could have been chosen. Therefore, the use of this means is assessed as disproportionate”.
Fracture in skull
Czech Denisa Štastná was standing on 18 Septemberplein when the ME (Military Unit) and water cannons tried to clear the square. She was hit by a hard jet of water and then smashed her head against a concrete wall.
She suffered a fracture of the skull, fifteen stitches and a swollen lip. Denisa was with her boyfriend Michael Piksel in the centre of Eindhoven, not to demonstrate, Michael told after the incident.
When asked what exactly they were protesting against, Denisa replied at the time, “Against nothing. We were just standing there filming and already walking away. They had no right to use the water cannon on us”. Therefore, she filed a report of attempted manslaughter against the officer who operated the water cannon.
Chain lock
According to the prosecutor, the police had already called several times for her to leave; an emergency regulation was also in place at the time. “Nevertheless, the woman was present on 18 Septemberplein for no apparent reason. She climbed on the roof of a bicycle shed and filmed the police action. When the water thrower entered the square, the victim climbed off the bicycle parking”, Justice reported.
“Shortly thereafter, the victim and her boyfriend were hit by a jet of water via the ground. The friend then grabbed a chain lock from the ground and threw the object several feet away towards the police vehicle. The water thrower then sprayed from a short distance against the woman, who then fell backwards against the bike rack”.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
