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Tuesday, 30 June 2015 - 17:35
Justice Min. disturbed by detained Aruban's death
Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice is concerned about what he saw in the videos of Mitch Heriquez' arrest. The Minister of Security and Justice feels the Rijksrecherche's investigation into the arrest is very important. The minister does not want to jump to conclusions on the outcome of the investigation. "But what I've seen, looked very distressful"
The 42 year old Aruban tourist died a day after the police arrested him at the Night in the Park music festival in The Hague. Videos of the arrest show him being unresponsive before he was taken away in a police van. Van der Steur is concerned that the police may have used more force than was necessary. "The police may use force, but it must be proportionate", the minister said to NOS.
Van der Steur called the incident a tragic accident. "I have confidence in the police and the Public Prosecutor. These are horrific incidents, we need to figure out exactly what happened. And if it turns out that something had gone wrong, measures must be taken."
The investigation into the incident will be conducted by the Rijksrecherche, the State Investigation Department that handles internal investigations, under leadership of the Public Prosecutor. According to Van der Steur, this is an independent investigation. The officers involved in the arrest are still working, but not on the streets.