Chokehold under investigation after fatal arrest

Minister Ard van der Steur of Security injustice has asked the Inspectorate of his ministry to investigate the chokehold sometimes used by police officers to bring suspects under control. A spokesperson for the minister confirmed this after The Hague Mayor Jozias van Aartsen mentioned it during a debate in the Hague city council, NU reports. This investigation follows the death of Aruban man Mitch Henriquez, who died a day after being arrested at the Night at the Park festival in The Hague late last month. The autopsy revealed that he likely died due to suffocation, which may have been caused by police officers using a chokehold on him during his arrest. The spokesperson for Minister Van der Steur said that the Inspectorate's investigation will focus on the use of the chokehold in general, and not specifically on the incident with Henriquez. The Rijksrecherche are investigating that incident. He told NU that the results of the investigation should be presented "sometime next year". Gerard Bouman, police chief of the National Police, called the investigation "a very good plan", on the talk program Hollandse zaken on Wednesday. He pointed out that the chokehold is not a "fixed measure" in the police practice and is not taught to officers during training.