The police officers from the Brussels Capital-Ixelles police zone who were convicted on Tuesday for a fatal chase that took place in May 2017 are appealing the verdict.
A Brussels court ruled on Tuesday that three officers were partly responsible for the fatal accident which occurred on 9 May 2017. At the time, a police patrol noticed a motorcyclist with a passenger driving recklessly. The patrol went after the motorcyclist, but he fled and a chase ensued.
At the end of the Bailli tunnel, the motorcyclist drove at high speed into a patrol car of the dog brigade. The driver had reportedly heard via radio communication that a pursuit was in progress on Avenue Louise and slowed down on the right-hand lane so that the pursuit could continue on the left-hand lane.
The motorcyclist, 24-year-old Ouassim Toumi, was killed instantly, and his passenger (and girlfriend) 20-year-old Sabrina El Bakkali was seriously injured and died in hospital later that night.
The Brussels court this week stated that Toumi was 60% responsible, but that the three officers were 40% responsible for the fatal accident – a remarkable ruling given that earlier this year, the prosecutor asked for the acquittal of the three officers before the Brussels police court. The court argued that the officers made several errors of judgment in their pursuit and asked for prison terms of up to 10 months.
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The lawyer of two of the officers, Sven Mary, has confirmed that they will be appealing the verdict, BRUZZ reports. The case will therefore be taken to the correctional court.
Tuesday's verdict has sent ripples through the police. While the lawyer of the victims argued that this is a clear signal to the police that they cannot behave in such a way, Jacques Gorteman, director of the Brussels Police Academy, warned that the verdict was subjective and sent the wrong message, signalling that police should not pursue offenders in future.
