Man shot by police dies in hospital

Rupert Lodovica, the 41-year-old man from Oss shot by the police in Eindhoven on Saturday, died of his injuries in hospital on Wednesday, the Public Prosecutor announced. 

The police responded to Wassenaarstraat in Eindhoven on Saturday after a report of domestic violence. Officers found Lodovica outside a house with a broken window. He resisted arrest and attacked one of the two officers, pushing him to the ground and threatened the other with a sharp object.

According to the prosecutor, the situation was so threatening that the police officer drew his weapon and fired it at Lodovica.  The incident was filmed by a neighbor.

Lodovica was hit by two police bullets, one went through a lung and the other ended up in his liver, according to news wire ANP. His esophagus was also severely damaged. He underwent a major surgery on Tuesday, but doctors already told the family that there is not much hope.

Shortly after the shooting, police union ANPV called it self-defense and stated that it would never have happened if the officers were equipped with tasers.

The man was released from custody only two days before he was shot. A week ago he was in court in connection with shop lifting and assaulting five police officers in court.

He was known to the police, but according to his lawyer by no means a major criminal. The lawyer believes the shooting happened in cold blood. "I just have no words for it", he said to Dutch newspaper AD. "It was really disproportionate. Self defense or not: these officers are trained to carefully deal with a firearm. I do not see that happening here.

As is standard practice in police shooting incidents, the Rijksrecherche - the department that handles internal police investigations - is looking into what happened. The investigation will include the video filmed by a neighbor and an autopsy on Lodovica's body to determine the exact cause of death.