Hague cops guilty of "serious dereliction of duty" in chokehold death

The Hague department of the National Police finished the investigation into five officers involved in the fatal arrest of Mitch Henriquez in Zuiderpark last year. The investigators concluded that four are guilty of serious dereliction of duty, the fifth of dereliction of duty, NOS reports.

The one officer guilty of dereliction of duty will be transferred to another job within the police. The other four will remain suspended for the time being.

The officers used pepper spray and a chokehold on Henriquez while arresting him at a music festival last year. An autopsy later revealed that the most likely cause of his death was a crushed larynx. Henriquez death led to days of rioting in Schilderswijk. Numerous protests against police brutality were held after his death.

Last month the Public Prosecutor announced that two of the officers will be prosecuted. They face charges of assault resulting in death, or manslaughter.

Earlier today NRC revealed that former police chief Gerard Bouman promised the five police officers that they will not lose their jobs "whatever happens".