Cop's eyesight permanently damaged by assault in Rotterdam wedding procession

A police officer who was assaulted by member of a wedding procession in Rotterdam in August last year, was left with more serious injuries than initially thought. Officer Gert Jan de Jonge's eye was damaged to such an extent that he will have to wear glasses for the rest of his life, his wife wrote in a blog on Rijnmond.nl.

The bride's brother, 26-year-old Shaihid B. from Lopik, is in custody for the assault. The blog is written as if a letter to the suspect.

The news of De Jonge's damaged eyesight felt like a rock in her stomach, his wife wrote. She recently saw the suspect in court, she said. "I know how you grew up. It is not an excuse, but an explanation. Your family did not teach you the difference between right and wrong. You had to figure it out yourself. If wrong choices are praised, how do you learn what is right. Is there someone in your life who could teach you? I do not think so."

She wrote about their 9-year-old son who sometimes gets angry at his sister, often justifiably, and gives her a shove. "You understand this. What you don't understand is that you can't just give someone a shove. We're teaching him that. You are no longer 9. Who teaches you not to shove if you are angry. I'm afraid nobody will succeed anymore. I'm afraid you'll hit or kick again and again if you think it's necessary. Without thinking about the damage you leave behind."

Their family is trying to deal with the consequences of the attack, joking about the glasses dad has to wear now. "But I don't like it. Abdominal pain, a lump in my stomach. I want to leave these six months behind me. Get on. Not being confronted daily with the physical consequences," the officer's wife wrote.

"No, glasses aren't that bad. Not really. But these glasses are," she said. "Maybe I am a little bit angry now. Maybe not even at you. Maybe more at your family."