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Monday, 22 August 2016 - 10:34
Suspect dies in police arrest after cop uses pepper spray
A 30-year-old disturbed man died while being arrested on Berkenstraat in Goes on Saturday. The police used pepper spray to get him under control. An investigation into the cause of his death was launched.
According to the police statement, officers responded to Berkenstraat around 4:10 p.m. after reports that a disturbed looking man was walking the street screaming. The man could not be reasoned with and officers used pepper spray to restrain him. The man lost consciousness and died. Attempts to resuscitate him were to no avail.
"He was walking naked and gave me quite a fright", one witness, who saw the man while cycling through the neighborhood, told Dutch newspaper AD."I quickly cycled to my father, who was walking the dog a little further on. But he was very much alive, totally hyper. I find it so strange that he is now dead."
Her father confirms the story. "I saw him at a crossroads. There he took off his clothes and he was jumping and trying to stop cars." the father said to the newspaper. "It lasted about ten minutes."
"My daughter cycled to her job when she saw the man in the street. A little further his clothes lay in the grass", another resident said to the newspaper. "He was lying on his stomach with the police on top, she said. How can this man be dead now> When i cycled along he shouted 'can I get up, can I get up'," the woman quoted her daughter.
The Rijksrecherche, the department that handles internal investigations at the police, launched an investigation into the circumstances and cause of the man's death. All involved officers and witnesses will be questioned.