Court reverses dismissal of three police officers in Limburg due to flawed procedure

Five police officers were dismissed from the Horst/Peel en Maas base team in Limburg for serious dereliction of duty in October 2020. However, the court ruled on Friday that the police chief wrongfully dismissed three of the five officers because the correct procedure had not been followed.

An investigation was launched into the Horst/Peel en Maas base team in April 2020 after local police leadership received signals about four employees behaving inappropriately. An investigation of WhatsApp messages, information in the police system, and interviews with police officers showed that the suspected cops were guilty of "one or more" inappropriate behaviors including harassment, undermining behavior, intimidation, leaking confidential information, and subversive behavior.

Following the investigation, five police officers were dismissed for serious dereliction of duty. Six others faced disciplinary actions, including demotion, transfer to another team, forfeiting leave hours, or a pay cut.

The court ruled on Friday that the WhatsApp messages sent and the comments on the shared photos fall under the right to freedom of expression. The police leadership should have first consulted the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and the Exercise of Duties by Civil Servants (Agfa) for advice. This was not done, and therefore, the dismissal cannot be based on these facts. For three officers, this means that there are insufficient grounds for dismissal.

According to the court, the dismissal of two other officers was justified even without consulting Agfa. The officers were found to have made false reports, with one also submitting a false anonymous crime report. “False reports undermine our rule of law and are disastrous for citizens' confidence in this rule of law,” the court stated. Given the gravity of their breaches of duty, their dismissals stand.