An officer from a Brussels police zone who punched a colleague, breaking his nose, was sentenced on Tuesday by the Brussels correctional court to 185 hours of community service.
The incident occurred when the officer found his colleague in bed with his ex-partner, also a police officer.
The defendant, C., and the female colleague had been in a relationship for some time but had broken up in the summer of 2023. A few months later, on the night of 22 to 23 October 2023, C. broke into his ex-partner's apartment and found her there with another colleague from the same zone.
According to the victim, C. punched him in the face. That blow resulted not only in a broken nose but also in swelling and neck pain.
The woman also joined the proceedings as a civil party and argued that she had been stalked. According to her lawyer, C. had already shown up at her bedside twice before at night, and the man could not let go of the relationship.
C.'s defence requested an acquittal for the stalking charge and argued for a suspended sentence or community service for the other offences: "My client and that woman had a passionate relationship for three years, but she suffered from mood swings. Even after she had ended the relationship, they remained in close contact, as is clearly evident from the exchanged messages."
The woman also regularly indicated that she was not doing well, after which C. would visit her, according to C.'s lawyer: "This was also the case on that particular night. In the bedroom, he smelled alcohol, and his colleague initially wanted to kick him. At that point, he lashed out with his fist."
On Tuesday, the court acquitted C. of the alleged stalking and sentenced him to 185 hours of community service for the assault and trespassing. If he fails to perform this properly, he faces a twelve-month prison sentence.
