A policeman will be sacked for racist remarks in Paris

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Oost Nederland Police Chief Janny Knol is taking disciplinary action against six officers caught making racist comments during a private outing in Paris, the AD reported on Wednesday.

One of the six faces was fired, one was transferred to another department, the two senior officers who failed to intervene received formal reprimands and the other two a written warning.

The six men had attended a football match against France in March this year and made the comments the next day in a minibus passing a market in northern Paris.

Passengers can be heard remarking that the people selling their wares are criminals and no white faces can be seen. One passenger calls the area a zoo while others repeat Geert Wilders’ 2014 call for fewer, fewer Moroccans.

All six officers were suspended after the video was made public pending the outcome of an investigation. The two most severe penalties – dismissal and removal – have yet to be confirmed by a police panel, the AD said.

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If you discriminate or make disparaging comments, you can’t perform well as a police officer, Knol told the newspaper. As a policeman, you have to be there for everyone. And we also expect the police to act when people show inappropriate behavior outside of working hours as well.

On-duty police officers filed dozens of complaints of racist or discriminatory behavior by colleagues in the six months to April, the NRC reported earlier this year. It was the first time the police had given an overview of complaints within the force, many of which came from senior officers.

Acting National Police Chief Liesbeth Huyzer told the newspaper at the time that the number recorded so far was irrelevant. What matters is that colleagues make reports, that we review them and respond to them appropriately, she said. Those who cross the line will always, always feel it.

Far right

One of the reports involved an officer in The Hague who was sent home after making wildly inappropriate comments on social media. The officer is an active member of the far-right PVV party and was a candidate in local elections last year.

Huyzer said barring police officers from joining democratically elected political parties was neither possible nor desirable, but that more should be done to ensure they perform their duties in a neutral manner and respect the constitution.

No one knows how many police officers are members of the PVV, but research suggests police officers lean more to the right, she told the newspaper. Several have stood as party candidates in the 2022 local elections.

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