A judicial inquiry has been opened into a fatal shooting in the car park of Dendermonde hospital last weekend, when a police officer shot a man suffering from psychosis.
The victim – a 48-year-old from Berlare, East Flanders – called the police himself on Friday night because he felt he was going to have a psychotic episode. Two officers, one male and one female, drove to his house and the man agreed to go with them to the hospital emergency room.
VRT understands the officers handcuffed the man as a precaution, with his hands in front. He was known to police, as he had called them in the past when he believed he was going to experience a psychotic episode.
In the hospital car park, the victim allegedly became aggressive and head-butted the male officer, breaking his nose. Believing the man was going to attack the female officer, the male officer shot him and he later died of his injuries.
The East Flanders public prosecutor’s office confirms that a judicial inquiry has been opened and is now in the hands of an investigating judge, who will investigate the exact circumstances of the shooting. A judge can take more action than a prosecutor and may also arrest and charge people.
The two officers are said to have several years of experience and have been on leave since the shooting. It is not known if they have been questioned and whether they will be charged. The preliminary charge is unintentional assault and wounding resulting in death, though this may change.