Man who died in police custody not killed by cops: Prosecutor

Bertus de Man, a 30-year-old man from Nijkerk who died after being arrested by the Amersfoort police on Monday, was likely not killed by the actions of the police officers who arrested him, according to the Public Prosecutor. The preliminary results of an autopsy done on his body show that he did not die because of a broken neck, strangulation, suffocation or heart failure, AD reports.

De Man died in the early hours of Monday morning shortly after being arrested at a traffic check. His family is convinced that he was killed by the police using excessive violence. On Tuesday, after De Man's body was released, family members stated that his neck looked broken or strangled and that he had been severely beaten by the police.

The Public Prosecutor firmly denies that De Man's neck was broken, spokesperson Mary Hallebeek said to AD. "If the medical examiner determined that, we would already know the cause of death and would be a lot further. Preliminary results of the autopsy show nothing about a broken neck. He was also not killed by strangulation, because there are no visible hemorrhages on his neck. Heart failure and suffocation were also ruled out."

The authorities are still waiting on the results of toxicology studies, which will reveal whether De Man had any harmful substances in his system.