Mechelen Mayor Bart Somers has written to Belgium’s federal ministers for the Interior and Justice, urging immediate action to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on violence against police officers.
On Wednesday, a local officer in Mechelen suffered serious injuries after being attacked by a young man who had been detained for riding a modified moped. The officer was placed in a chokehold and sustained a fractured hip. He is expected to be unable to work for about a year.
The assailant has been placed under electronic monitoring following a judicial ruling.
Mayor Somers criticised the decision to place the assailant under electronic monitoring, describing it as a poor signal.
“I respect the separation of powers, but this is incomprehensible,” he wrote. “I thought we were enforcing zero tolerance against anyone who resorts to violence against police officers.
"Our legal framework, crafted by legislative and executive powers, should not permit such leniency. Every member of our police force feels this decision is a slap in the face, leaving them feeling utterly abandoned.”
Somers expressed deep disappointment with the government’s approach, accusing it of failing to back up its promises. “The government’s declared zero-tolerance policy against violence targeting police officers and all public servants seems to be nothing more than hollow rhetoric,”he charged.
The mayor hcalled on the ministers to outline their plans for restoring police confidence. “Today, we are abandoning our police officers in the streets and loosening standards on violence against law enforcement and public officials,” he said. “This cannot and must not be accepted.
"I urge the ministers to detail what concrete measures and legislative initiatives they intend to take to ensure that zero tolerance is no longer an empty shell.”
