The police station of the Montgomery zone in Brussels (Etterbeek/Woluwe-Saint-Lambert/Woluwe-Saint-Pierre) was pelted with Molotov cocktails on Tuesday night.
Unknown perpetrators threw Molotov cocktails at the police station of the dog brigade in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert last night, Chief of police Michaël Jonniaux and the Brussels public prosecutor's office confirmed to De Standaard.
No police officers or dog handlers were present at the time, so no officers or animals were injured, but the material damage is extensive.
Afgelopen nacht werd de politie in Brussel opnieuw doelwit van brandstichting. Ditmaal werden een aantal voertuigen van de hondenbrigade van de PZ Montgomery totaal vernield. De feiten zouden blijkbaar het gevolg zijn van een arrestatie enkele uren voordien. pic.twitter.com/mjkyRuzLoD
— VSOA POLITIE (@VSOAPOLITIE) March 2, 2022
Translation: "Last night, the police in Brussels were again the target of arson. This time a number of vehicles of the dog brigade of the Montgomery police zone were completely destroyed. The incident would apparently be the result of an arrest a few hours earlier."
"Three vehicles were severely damaged," Jonniaux told De Standaard. “Significant damage has also been done to the building, which will make it unusable for some time."
A fire expert and the lab of the federal judicial police arrived on the scene, according to the public prosecutor's office. "So far, no suspects have been identified."
Meanwhile, Interior Affairs Minister Annelies Verlinden took to Twitter to state that "expressing frustrations by inflicting destruction is unacceptable," adding that she would look into better protective measures.
"Together with our services, we continuously monitor the threat to the police," she added.
Frustraties uiten door vernielingen aan te brengen is ontoelaatbaar. Ik laat me grondig over de beschermingsmaatregelen informeren. Samen met onze diensten bekijken we permanent de dreiging op de politie. https://t.co/MJockPCRly
— Annelies Verlinden (@AnneliesVl) March 2, 2022
According to Olivier Maingain, the mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, there could be a link with a police check that led to an arrest earlier on Tuesday evening, as the VSOA police union also said on Twitter. "Further investigations should show whether the two events are effectively related, but some kind of retaliation is not ruled out."
On Monday evening, a similar incident occurred at the police station in Molenbeek. According to police sources, the attack was the result of an arrest in a drug file. The NSPV police union suspects that Monday's incident was a response to a number of police checks that had been carried out in previous days, Carlo Medo of the union said on local radio.
"Apparently some people cannot accept that the police are doing their job. It is not only a form of violence, it is also very disappointing for colleagues who try to do their job well," he said. "That is why we repeat again, violence against the police must be tackled more rigorously with a tit-for-tat policy and zero tolerance."
