Man shot dead by police
01 August 2003
On Wednesday 6 August 2003, an Amsterdam police officer shot dead a man in the streets of Amsterdam West. According to a Justice Department spokesman, Driss Arbib, a 33-year-old of Moroccan origin, had threatened an officer. The account given by witnesses is more complicated and the local community and migrant organisations have voiced doubts about a threat having been present before the fatal shot. A committee has been formed against "senseless police violence", which organised a demonstration on 16 August 2003 against police brutality and discrimination. The body responsible for investigating police misconduct (Rijksrecherche) is investigating the case.
According to Driss Arbib's girlfriend, Oum Koltsoum El Menssi, she and Driss were eating in the Warung Swietie restaurant in Mercatorplein square in Amsterdam West. After dinner, Driss went to gamble on one of the machines in the restaurant when four men who sat at the table next to her started to harass her. Driss suggested that they leave and go home. As they left he told one of the men that they objected to the intrusive looks and questions. According to Driss's girlfriend, one of the men responded by head-butting him. Customers told them to take it outside and Driss left. In the meantime, the police arrived and talked to two of the four men, who told them that Driss had been drunk and was looking for a fight. At that moment Driss returned to the cafe with a 20 cm. long knife, which he pointed at the man who had assaulted him. A policeman shot Driss dead. According to Oum Koltsoum El Menssithe, the officer did not offer the victim assistance.
After the killing, tensions arose in the neighbourhood. In 2000, Het Mercatorplein had been at the centre of riots by Moroccan youth, after a concert was stopped because a rapper had shouted "Fuck the police". According to members of the local community, a lot has changed since then, with houses having been renovated and life having returned to the square. A Surinamese woman summarised the anger by arguing that if it had been a white man, the police would not have fired.
On 7 August 2003, a memorial service was held in remembrance of Driss Arbib on Het Mercatorplein. A day later, several Moroccan organisations organised a demonstration against police violence and discrimination. The chairman of the Committee for Moroccan Workers in Holland, Jamal Ouftih, said it had been the third time the police had used such force against a person of Moroccan origin. He confirmed that Driss was not known to the police and that he had worked at Schiphol airport. That evening the Committee Against Senseless Police Violence and Discrimination (CASPVD) was formed.
The CASPVD has rejected an investigation by the Rijksrecherche arguing that their investigations are flawed and suggesting that the body cannot be seen to be independent from the police. The Rijksrecherche investigates police misconduct, from shooting incidents, acts of violence and discrimination to corruption allegations and fraud (the latter making up the majority of its work) - in shooting incidents and deaths in custody it automatically carries out an investigation.
The College van Procureurs Generaals, the highest level of the Openbaar Ministerie (public prosecution service) is responsible for the Rijksrecherche. Opinions differ, with some lawyers claiming that they deliberately do not investigate complaints properly. Others say that their investigations are sometimes more efficient than police inquiries. However, most lawyers who have dealt with shootings by police officers agree that the officer is usually not prosecuted; after the Rijksrecherche investigation the public prosecutor in the city where the incident happened invariably decides not to pursue the case. The Committee Against Senseless Police Violence and Discrimination has therefore announced a parallel investigation into Driss Arbibs death and several other incidents.
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