Video: Man arrested with knives at Tefaf was actually a chef working in Maastricht
The police detained a man at the Tefaf art fair in Maastricht who was carrying a bag full of knives. The man turned out to be a chef, and he needed the “weapons” for work at the fair. A police vlogger put footage of the incident on YouTube this week.
On March 12, the police received a report that a man with a bag full of knives was walking around on the grounds of the art fair. Someone saw the man putting the knives into the bag.
Given the size of the event, the police responded in large numbers. Officers found the man and, with a taser drawn, told him to get down on the ground and keep his hands in the air. They handcuffed the man and started searching his things.
The officers found a roll full of knives. “That is my work bag. I am a cook in the kitchen,” the handcuffed man can be heard saying in the video.
The officers told the man that they had to check his bags for security. The man remained calm, repeating “no problem” and “I understand” to the officers. Inside his bag, the police found additional cooking equipment, corroborating the man’s story. The officers concluded it was a false alarm.
The police unlocked the man’s handcuffs and explained to him what had happened. “Someone saw you taking knives out of a bag, putting them in another bag,” the officer explained. “We have here a big event. Safety is above everything. It is a high priority. And we don’t take any risks. And that’s the reason why we did this with the taser and everything.”
“I understand this is somewhat of a shocking moment,” the officer told the man as he let him go. “Thank you for your cooperation.”
