Rotterdam cops accused of texting racial slurs transferred
The Rotterdam police officers accused of making racist remarks in a WhatsApp group were transferred and no longer work in Delfshaven, the police department confirmed in a statement released on Thursday. The months-long scandal led up to their transfers, which took effect on Monday.
The department stated it was necessary for the agents to be relocated elsewhere so the peace and trust in the police could be restored. It is not yet known where the agents will work next.
"From all the conversations we had in the district and the experiences that the police officers have recorded in the neighborhoods, it appears that the support for these colleagues has decreased to such an extent which required relocating them," police said in their statement.
In January 2019, the officers police station reportedly made racial slurs about ethnically diverse people in a WhatsApp group, referring to them as "kankervolk", "kutmarokkanen" and "pauperallochtonen" - slurs that roughly translate to "cancer peoples", "cuntish Moroccans", and "pauper foreigners".
This happened after a video depicting the abuse of a 15-year-old boy was shared in the group app.
Then in March, Rotterdam officers also sent racist messages in response to the brutal murder of Humeyra, a 16-year-old Dutch-Turkish girl, in a shooting alongside her high school in Rotterdam-West.
At the end of March, hundreds of people protested at the police station on Marconiplein demanding the resignation of the five officers involved.
