Cop will be prosecuted for shooting at teenage tractor driver during farmer protest

Prosecutors in the Netherlands have decided to move forward with a criminal case against a police officer who shot at the cab of a moving tractor last July. A 16-year-old boy was driving the vehicle at the time.

Last year, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced it was conducting a criminal investigation, and suspected the police officer of attempted manslaughter. The decision was made following an investigation by the independent Rijksrecherche to determine whether the use of force was warranted, and was in accordance with regulations.

The incident happened during a farmers' protest on July 5, 2022, at the A32 onramp hear Heerenveen. The boy in question, 16-year-old Jouke Hospes, escaped the incident unharmed but shaken. He was initially detained for attempted manslaughter on suspicion that he tried to drive into the police officers who were present at the scene, but the case against him was dropped.

The Rijksrecherche spoke to witnesses and analyzed photos, and video footage of the shooting. Hospes’s family also pressed charges against the police officer who fired the gunshot. Police commissioner Gery Veldhuis later said that the police officer involved was wrong in his assessment of the situation. The case was then handed over to the OM, which has completed its examination of the situation.

“Based on this investigation, the Public Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute the police officer on suspicion of attempted manslaughter. The case will be heard by the Blauwe Kamer of the Central Netherlands District Court, which has been dealing with all cases in which a police officer is prosecuted for the use of force in the performance of their duties since July 1, 2022,” the OM said in a statement. A hearing date has not been set.

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The OM also said that a name and photo of a police officer “wrongly linked to this shooting incident” has been spread on social media. The OM said this can be harmful to the person involved. “The Public Prosecution Service does not provide personal data about suspects, but it does report when incorrect information is circulated about the identity of a suspect.”