Man arrested at Schiphol for assault in social distancing argument

The Koninklijke Marechaussee arrested a 36-year-old man at Schiphol on Thursday evening for assaulting a enforcement officer after a disagreement about a fine issued for not adhering to coronavirus measures. Marechaussee officers had to use pepper spray to get the man off the enforcement officer, who he was holding down on the train tracks, the Marechaussee said on Facebook.

The Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border security, received a report of a possible bawl on Jan Dellaertplein at the airport. At the scene responding officers found a group of men arguing with an enforcer about a fine. "After the Marechaussee officers tried to appease the conflict, they saw that a man attacked the enforcer with multiple punches and then ran away."

The officers and enforcer gave chase, with the enforcer catching up to the man of the platform of the train station. There was a struggle and the enforcer ended up on the train tracks with the man on top of him, the Marechaussee said. The officers used pepper spray on the man to get him off the enforcer and arrested him. He is in custody for further investigation.