Death of Paul Selier

Paul Selier (born c. 1979) lived in the Hague in the Netherlands. Early in the morning of 2 February 2018, Selier encountered police officers in Waddinxveen and died whilst being arrested. A year later, the official investigation announced that excessive police violence had not been used and Selier had taken cocaine.

Incident

Paul Selier (born c. 1979) lived in the Hague with his family.[1] He had two children with his wife.[2] He worked as a car dealer and also had a stall where he sold herring.[3] Early in the morning of 2 February 2018, Selier was seen by eyewitnesses on the Oude Dreef in Waddinxveen, in a confused state. At 05:30 he was in his car, screaming and hitting the steering wheel; at 05:45 he was sitting in the road. Dutch police officers arrived at 05:50.[4] He was ordered to lie on his stomach and when he did not do so, the officers started beating him, in an incident recorded by a passerby.[4][5] The film showed one officer striking Selier repeatedly whilst the restrained man screamed.[6]

At first, the police told the family that Selier had collapsed and died whilst being arrested, but then the footage of the officers beating Selier was shared with Omroep West.[4] After initially refusing to comment, the Public Prosecution Service announced it would investigate.[1][4] Shocked by the violence, a friend of Selier's organized a march in the Hague on 19 February, to protest against police brutality.[7] An investigation by the Brabants Dagblad revealed that Selier was known to the police as a cocaine user who often had breakdowns and in January he had been observed acting strangely in Scheveningen harbour. On that occasion, he eventually jumped into the water and had to be rescued by six firemen.[3]

One year later, the Rijksrecherche (National Criminal Investigation Department) reported that Selier had not died as a result of excessive police violence and the Public Prosecution Service announced it would not reveal the cause of death, as requested by the family.[8] Selier's blood had been found to contain cocaine.[2] The family's lawyer stated they accepted the decision and would be making a complaint against the police.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. Enthoven, Anniek (2 February 2018). "Omgekomen man in Waddinxveen is Hagenaar Paul Selier (39) [Deceased man in Waddinxveen is Paul Selier (39) from the Hague]". Omroep West (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. "Paul Selier niet overleden door geweld bij aanhouding". Omroep West (in Dutch). 7 February 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  3. Nieuwenhuis, Marcia (19 February 2018). "'Lieve' omgekomen autohandelaar Paul Selier had ook duistere kant ["Sweet" deceased car dealer Paul Selier also had a dark side]". Brabants Dagblad. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  4. Enthoven, Anniek (2 February 2018). "Familie omgekomen man Waddinxveen: 'Politie vertelde dat Paul in elkaar zakte tijdens arrestatie [Family of man killed in Waddinxveen: "Police say Paul collapsed during arrest"]". Omroep West (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  5. "Verwarde man dood na schokkende arrestatie door politie [Confused man dead after shocking arrest by police]". Joop (in Dutch). 2 February 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  6. Kompagnie, Anne (3 February 2018). "Veel vragen rond arrestatie en dood van Paul Selier (39) [Many questions around arrest and death of Paul Selier (39)]". Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  7. Gioia, Graziella (3 February 2018). "Vriend overleden Paul Selier: Ik krijg zijn gegil niet meer uit mijn hoofd [Friend of deceased Paul Selier: I can't get his screams out of my head]". Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  8. "Autohandelaar niet dood door politieoptreden". Nieuws.nl (in Dutch). ANP. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  9. "Onderzoek naar dood Paul Selier klaar". Richardkorver.nl (in Dutch). Richard Korver advocaten. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
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