# Seven police officers face prosecution over Rotterdam arrest death

> The Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie) says seven officers broke force guidelines during a 2023 arrest in Rotterdam, resulting in the death of a 32-year-old man.

Society · published 2026-10-29 15:58 · https://nlnow.nl/a/seven-police-officers-to-be-prosecuted-over-rotterdam-arrestee-s-death/

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) will prosecute seven police officers over the death of a 32-year-old man on 9 June 2023, after his arrest on the ’s Gravenweg in Rotterdam. He was tasered and then held down for a long time. He died in hospital after being resuscitated.

The officers are suspected of breaking the force guidelines (geweldsinstructie), resulting in his death. The OM reached this conclusion after the Rijksrecherche investigation, which raised the suspicion that the way he was restrained could explain his death.

Two officers first responded to a report of a traffic incident. The man was said to have hit a car while on his bicycle and cycled off. The officers chased him, first in a police van and then on foot. One fired a taser after he repeatedly ignored their instructions, the OM says. It did not have the desired effect.

More officers arrived. Because he kept resisting, several of them held him down on his stomach for a long time. When officers saw he was in trouble, they called an ambulance and began resuscitating him.

The case against an eighth officer, a trainee, was dropped (geseponeerd). He carried out instructions from more senior colleagues. The investigation did not show that he acted on his own initiative in ways that contributed to the death.

The case goes to the Blauwe Kamer, a special court in Utrecht that hears cases against police officers. Hearings will be held on 19 January 2027 and from 15 to 18 February 2027. The judge will rule in all the cases at the same time.

## Background

- **Rijksrecherche**: The Rijksrecherche is the national investigation department that looks into suspected criminal offences by police officers and other investigating officers. It works under the direction of the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie). It matters because cases where officers may have caused harm, such as a death during an arrest, are investigated independently of the police force involved.
- **Blauwe Kamer**: The Blauwe Kamer is a special chamber of the district court in Utrecht (Rechtbank Midden-Nederland) that hears criminal cases against investigating officers, such as police officers, for offences committed while on duty. Its name refers to the blue colour used for these cases. Cases are heard by this chamber rather than by the regular criminal courts.

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