At a press conference on Wednesday morning the Brussels prosecutor’s office gave more details about the investigation into a police chase on Monday 2 June that resulted in the death of an 11-year-old boy. The police vehicle that ran into the back of the e-scooter that the boy was riding was travelling at 40 km/h inside the Elisabeth Park in the Brussels municipality of Ganshoren. It is also likely that the police car didn’t have its flashing light or siren on during the chase. The police officer that was driving the car has been arrested on suspicion of maliciously hindering traffic resulting in death. He has been released from custody and has been electronically tagged.
Police officer involved in fatal accident in which 11-year-boy died was driving at 40km/h inside a Brussels park
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If convicted the police officer could be sentenced to between 20 and 30 years’ imprisonment. The police officer that was a passenger in the police car has been released without charge.
Brussels’ Chief Prosecutor Julien Moinil told the press conference that the police monitoring committee Comité P that is investigating the incident has worked day and night to shed light on what happened. "It became clear very quickly that are contradictions between the statements given by the police officers and the objective facts. Properties have been searched and their mobile phone confiscated to see what calls they made following the accident”.
The first point that Mr Moinil addressed was the motive for the car chase. "There was no other reason than that he (the boy) was riding an e-scooter. No drugs, no aggression… Contrary to what they said in their statements, the flashing light on the police car had not been switched on. Several witnesses have said this. They were driving at 40 km/h inside a park that is not accessible for cars”.
Mr Moinil says that two major questions remain. Was the boy run over after he fell or did he fall after being hit by the police car? "This is something that we absolutely need to clarify”. Secondly, there is the question of the police driving a motor vehicle inside the park. "Are the police allowed to drive there? The question is also whether they have the training to do car chases of this nature”.
Two other investigations
In addition to the investigation into the boy’s death, the prosecutor’s office has opened investigations into the type of e-scooter he was riding and into leaks to the press of information pertaining to the investigation.
The e-scooter was Chinese-made and the investigation is examining whether the scooter conformed to European and Belgian rules. "E-scooters are very dangerous. There are dozens of accidents sometimes resulting in serious injury or death. The scooters are sometimes capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 km/h, while the maximum speed they can travel at is 25 km/h”.
The shop where the boy’s parents had bought the scooter was raided on Tuesday by the Economic inspectorate. Goods with a value of 60,000 euro were confiscated. The shop has been closed and sealed.
Mr Moinil is unhappy about leaks in the press of information related to the investigation. "I cannot accept this. Confidential information was leaked". He added that it is unacceptable that the boy’s family were confronted with articles containing information about the 11-year-old’s death while they were abroad for his funeral.