Justice minister Ard van der Steur has asked the Inspectorate of Security and Justice to look into the use of the neck hold by police.

The investigation comes after the death of Aruban holidaymaker Mitch Henriquez in police custody, but the inspectorate will look at the use of the neck hold in a wider context, news agency ANP reports.

The neck hold is a method the police sometimes use to subdue a suspect. It has been banned in a number of US states but Dutch police are allowed to use it.

Henriquez died following a heavy-handed arrest after attending a pop concert in The Hague last month. He was wrestled to the ground and bundled into a police van, apparently unconscious.

The public prosecution office later said he probably died from a lack of oxygen, most likely caused by a neck hold.

National police chief Gerard Bouman told tv programme Hollandse Zaken he welcomes the investigation. He said the neck hold is ‘not a general method’ used by the police and it is not taught during police training.