Six Dutch police officers were suspended on Sunday after posting a video with racist comments whilst in Paris, France.
According to NU.nl, the group of police officers drove through a street in Paris last week, making racist comments about people of colour and filming the incident as a social media video.
The video was said to have been shot while the group of officers were off-duty in Paris for the Netherlands vs. France football game.
Sparking an uproar on social media, a police investigation was subsequently launched into the statements made and the officers’ involvement.
Racist comments
The video shows the officers commenting multiple times that there is only “one white person” to be seen.
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The video shows another person commenting: “There’s another one with a bomb belt here.”
At another moment in the video, an officer asks the group: “You are filming as if we are driving in a zoo, aren’t you?” and a person agrees with the question.
I just watched a documentary about institutional racism and xenophobia in the Dutch police forces and I’m so sad I can’t stop crying. Can you imagine having to be on your toes all of the time for people who are supposed to protect you who hate you for being you? Privilege checked— Eve (@efcbt) April 14, 2020
One officer also asked the group whether they wanted “more or less” and the group responded with “less, less, less” in reference to PVV (Party for Freedom) leader Geert Wilders’ controversial Moroccan ruling.
In 2014, Wilders asked at an election meeting whether those attending wanted “more or fewer Moroccans” and the crowd chanted “less, less” in response. To which he then replied, “Then we will arrange that.” He was then found guilty of group insult by The Court of Appeal in The Hague.
Police response
The police chief of the East Netherlands, Janny Knol, told NU.nl: “As the police, we are very shocked by these images and statements because we want to be a police of and for everyone.”
“The behaviour of these colleagues, even though they were in their private time, is not in keeping with this and is completely unacceptable.”
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According to the police spokesperson, the six officers are denied access to all police locations while the investigation is open.
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