OM say police officer was justified in fatal shooting of woman in Groningen 

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has come to the conclusion that the police officer who shot and killed a 24-year-old woman on the Helperzoom in Groningen on the evening hours of May 26 leading into May 27 was justified to use his firearm. They believe the officer was right to fear for the life of his colleague and had no other way of averting the danger. The woman was threatening to stab his colleague with a knife.

Several police officers responded to a call made by the woman’s boyfriend during the evening. He had fled from the home on the Helperzoom because the woman threatened him with a knife and had injured herself with it. The woman was under the influence of drugs.

Officers were forced to break the door down after the woman did not open the door. They found the woman in the bathroom when they got in. She grabbed the knife, according to the OM, and went after one of the police officers. When she leaned forward, close to that officer, the other officer fired once.

“The entire incident took place in a small space in just a few seconds," the Public Prosecution Service said. The woman was severely injured and died shortly after the shot.

The National Criminal Investigation Department has investigated the events in detail. They heard the story of several police officers and others as witnesses. The Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) has conducted pathological and toxicological research. The images from the bodycam that one of the police officers wore have also been viewed and analyzed.

The conclusions of the OM “do not take anything away from this tragic incident,” said the Justice Department. “A young woman has passed away, and her family will have to live with that. This also applies to the police officers that were involved. Although the use of the weapon was justified, the incident also made a deep impression on them.”