Amsterdam firefighters accused of publishing gunshot victim’s resuscitation efforts
Firefighters took photos of the resuscitation of former footballer Kelvin Maynard after he was shot in Amsterdam Zuidoost in September, Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus said in a letter to parliament.
It is "obviously very serious," a Amsterdam-Amstelland fire department spokesperson told newspaper AD. To date, no fire fighters are known to have been disciplined over the incident.
The 32-year-old victim, originally from Paramaribo, Suriname, was shot while he was driving his car on Langbroekdfreef at about 8:30 p.m. on September 18. He subsequently crashed his car into a fire station not far from where the shooting took place. Firefighters immediately started resuscitation while other emergency services responded, but it was to no avail. Maynard succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
After the incident, photos of Maynard's resuscitation started circulating, even as there were reportedly no photographers from any media outlets at the scene while first responders treated Maynard. The suspicion arose that the photos were taken by emergency workers.
Minister Grapperhaus now confirmed this took place, saying that the photos were taken by "one or more firefighters from this region". The Minister expressed his dissatisfaction with this and said that an external agency was called in to investigate and recommend measures. In the mean time, the fire brigade once again talked to its firefighters about taking photos and videos of victims.
Maynard played professional football as a defender for FC Volendam, FC Emmen, and Royal Antwerp, after developing in the Zeeburgia Amsterdam youth program.
He was shot and killed the same day as criminal defense attorney Derk Wiersum, who was killed earlier that morning in Amsterdam Zuid.
