Violence used in Rotterdam arrest disproportional, mayor says

The violence a police officer used while arresting a woman on Stadhuisplein in Rotterdam last month was not proportional, Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb wrote in response to questions from the local DENK faction. The officer was allowed to use force, but the degree of violence used crossed a line, according to the mayor, NOS reports.

A video of the hard-handed arrest was spread on social media early in June. The video shows a woman interfering with an arrest, shouting at a police officer and trying to punch him. She was pushed around and punched by police officers, before being handcuffed, while shocked onlookers shout at the officers.

According to Aboutaleb, the incident started when a man and the woman had a fight with a bouncer at a local business. When the police tried to arrest the two, the woman resisted. "She was very aggressive, both verbally and physically. Violence was used to get the situation under control and to arrest the two suspects", the mayor wrote. "It was judged that the police officer was authorized and justified to use force. But the extent in this situation was not judged to be proportionate."

The officer was called to account for the violence used, Aboutaleb added. The officer who was shouted at by the woman filed charges of insult against her. The Public Prosecutor is investigating the case.