Beach party riot, police and council failed

The police, justice ministry and Rotterdam council officials all made mistakes before, during and after the Hoek van Holland beach party during which police shot dead one man after coming under attack, according to an official report into the event.


The report by the security and crisis management institute COT says just 45 police officers in uniform were on duty when they were attacked by hundreds of youths, according to Nos tv.
The public prosecution department said on Tuesday that none of the officers who fired their weapons into the crowd at the Sunset Grooves event in August would face charges. One 19-year-old was killed and five others injured by police bullets.

Risks

The institute said there had not been proper coordination when the permits to hold the event were given, the preparation showed failings and the risk of trouble was under estimated.
For example, hours before the party started, police were aware a large group of football hooligans was planning to cause trouble, but that information was not passed on to officials on the ground or senior police officers.
‘At the beginning of the event there were all sorts of signals that things were going wrong. These signals were not properly recognised… and no extra measures were taken, the COT report said.
Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said he accepted all the researchers’ recommendations and would be adapting procedures.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation