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🇧🇪 Belgium /Crime & Justice

Brussels police chief defends actions at protest: '13-year-old arrested with gasoline'

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Brussels police chief Michel Goovaerts defended the police response to a protest against education cuts, stating intervention was necessary due to arson and looting.
  • He highlighted that rioters hijacked the demonstration, with police arresting a 13-year-old carrying gasoline and identifying around 400 youths involved.
  • Goovaerts expressed concern over a rise in juvenile delinquency and the challenges police face without an internal order service during such events.

Brussels: The police chief of Brussels, Michel Goovaerts, has defended the police's actions during a protest against austerity measures in French-speaking education, asserting that intervention was unavoidable due to escalating violence including arson and looting.

Rioters hijacked the demonstration.

— Michel GoovaertsExplaining the police's justification for intervention during the protest.

"Rioters hijacked the demonstration," Goovaerts stated, explaining that police were compelled to act when protesters began setting fires, erecting barricades with bicycles, attempting to breach the parliament doors, and plundering a local convenience store.

During the intervention, police made approximately thirty judicial arrests, including a 13-year-old boy found with a can of gasoline. Additionally, about 100 individuals were administratively detained. Goovaerts mentioned that authorities identified around 400 youths who were present among the rioters, and their parents will be contacted.

We have established at a certain point that the rioters were hiding among the other protesters. At that moment, we must ensure that the demonstration is dispersed, or at least that we can push it back.

— Michel GoovaertsDescribing the police's strategy to separate rioters from peaceful protesters.

Goovaerts voiced significant concern about a growing trend of juvenile delinquency, noting an increase in young people committing crimes, not just during protests. He indicated that discussions are underway with mayors to address this issue.

We have about thirty judicial arrests, including - it is regrettable to note - a 13-year-old boy with a can of gasoline.

— Michel GoovaertsDetailing the arrests made during the protest.

Responding to criticism that the police response, which involved water cannons and tear gas, was disproportionate, Goovaerts argued that intervention only occurred when the situation became severe. He pointed out the difficulty police face in managing such events, particularly the absence of an internal order service comparable to those used during union demonstrations, which complicates dialogue and allows troublemakers to exploit the situation.

We see daily, not just during demonstrations, more and more young people who are looting or committing crimes. That worries us greatly.

— Michel GoovaertsExpressing concern about the increasing trend of juvenile crime.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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