A 47-year-old nurse was sentenced on Wednesday by the Liege criminal court to a 10-month suspended prison sentence after she spat at police officers and committed acts of rebellion during the lockdown.
The woman had organised a birthday party with several neighbours and opposed the intervention of the police.
The police intervened in Amay (in the province of Liège) on 4 April around 9:00 PM in front of the defendant's home after being informed that a birthday party was being held there with around ten people.
The police put an end to the party by fining the participants, but the nurse rebelled. She was very nervous and shouted "I don't care, I'm a nurse,” contesting the police intervention.
After insulting the four police officers, the nurse had claimed that she was a carrier of the Covid-19 virus and had deliberately coughed and spat in the faces of the police officers. The nurse, who was under the influence of alcohol, was subdued and placed in a police van, where she spat again.
This intervention led to the quarantine of the four policemen for 14 days and emergency disinfection of the police van.
The defence had nuanced the facts as described and had evoked a disproportionate intervention by the police officers in the tense context of the period of confinement.
The Brussels Times
