Cop convicted of attempted manslaughter for shooting at teen in tractor protest; No jail time

The police officer who shot at the young tractor driver Jouke during a farmers' protest in Heerenveen in July 2022 was sentenced to a conditional one-month imprisonment on Friday. The officer is also sentenced to 80 hours of community service. The court found him guilty of attempted manslaughter.

The incident occurred on July 5, 2022, during a farmers' protest against the nitrogen policy along the A32 near Heerenveen. The officer fired at the tractor where Jouke, then 16 years old, was seated. Although the bullet did not hit Jouke, it struck and lodged in the doorpost of the moving tractor's cabin. The teenager escaped the incident unharmed but shaken. He was initially arrested for attempted manslaughter, but the case against him was dropped.

The officer claimed in court last month that he drew his weapon "in great chaos," fearing that he or bystanders might get injured. "I thought he was going to run over me or someone else," he said.

"Did you want to stop the tractor by shooting at the cabin?" the court asked. The officer admitted in hindsight that shooting was not sufficient to stop a moving tractor and that the risks were very high. "At the moment you stand there thinking you are in danger, I believed it was possible. I thought injuries or worse could occur. And that's why the shot was fired,” he said.

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The court said on Friday that in view of the camera images, "there was no real danger" that Jouke would run over the suspect or other people. "Given that the suspect was an experienced and trained police officer, it was expected that he could adequately assess the situation, despite the chaos of the moment," the court stated.

The court concluded that, while it cannot be proven that the officer shot with the intent to kill Jouke, he did "knowingly and willingly" take a significant risk that could have resulted in his death. Therefore, the court said that it is "legally and convincingly proven" that the officer is guilty of attempted manslaughter, according to an RTL Nieuws present in the courtroom.

Belangrijk: de rechtbank vindt dat niet bewezen kan worden dat #agent heeft geschoten om Jouke te doden. Maar, volgend vraag is: heeft hij wél willens en wetens het aanmerkelijke risico heeft gelopen dat Jouke dodelijk getroffen zou worden? Het antwoord op deze vraag is: Ja.

— Geert Gordijn (@geertgordijn) December 1, 2023

He was also sentenced to 80 hours of community service. The Public Prosecution Service only demanded a conditional one-month prison sentence. However, the court found that this would not do justice to "the nature and seriousness of the offense." It was determined that there was an unjustified discharge of a service weapon. Therefore, the court decided that an unconditional sentence should also be imposed.

Neither the officer, Jouke, nor his family were present in the courtroom on Friday. The officer's lawyer stated that the officer can retain his job due to "his excellent track record," and mentioned that the officer was "disappointed" with the verdict.