One Year After Fabian’s Death: Belgium Police Reform Review
On June 2, 2025, 11-year-old Fabian was killed in Elisabethpark in Ganshoren, Brussels, after being struck by a police vehicle traveling at over 40 km/h without sirens or flashing lights during a pursuit. One year later, VRT NWS has investigated what has changed — and the answer is a mixed picture of incremental progress and unfinished reform.
The Incident and Its Aftermath
Fabian was riding an electric scooter when police attempted to stop him for a check. He fled, and a 24-year-old officer with just two years of service pursued him in a marked vehicle through the park — a space filled with playing children — without activating emergency signals. The collision proved fatal.
The officer was initially detained with an ankle monitor but was later released after the Council Chamber ruled he posed no threat to public safety. He now works in a supporting administrative role at Police Zone West. According to De Morgen, he faces 20 to 30 years in prison. The judicial investigation remains ongoing as of May 30, 2026.
In late 2025, Fabian’s mother met with the officer in what his lawyer, Sven Mary, described as an “emotional but serene” conversation.
Police Vehicles in Parks: A Partial Ban
One of the most immediate demands after the tragedy was a ban on motorized police patrols in parks. Initially, motions to that effect were rejected in Koekelberg, Ganshoren, and Brussels-Stad. But after Schaarbeek passed such a motion, Koekelberg followed suit.
Since February 2026, Police Zone West — covering Koekelberg, Ganshoren, Molenbeek, Sint-Agatha-Berchem, and Jette — has applied a policy of minimizing vehicle presence in parks. “During the day, presence in parks is primarily ensured on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback,” Arjen Van Humbeeck, spokesperson for Police Zone West, told VRT NWS. Emergency exceptions remain in place.
Priority Driving Training: Progress, But No Mandate
The case exposed a troubling gap: some officers receive no practical training in priority driving before going on patrol. The Police Academy Brussels offers courses that are “particularly popular and regularly fully booked,” according to spokesperson Benjamin Bergiers.
Zone West has had an enhanced training program since 2023. Between 2023 and 2025, 325 personnel were trained, with an additional 108 scheduled for 2026 — which would achieve universal coverage within the zone. However, there remains no national mandate requiring priority driving training for all officers.
The Stalled Circular Letter
Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) has been working on a circular letter on priority driving — a document that has been in development for nearly a year. A first version was presented to unions in late April 2026, receiving a negative response. The VSOA Police Union argued that the letter “de facto places responsibility back on the ground, without providing the necessary support.” A follow-up meeting occurred on May 28, but the final version remains pending.
Carlo Medo, spokesperson for the NSPV police union, told VRT NWS that priority driving training “should be mandatory for everyone, just like training for the use of a firearm.”
A Broader Pattern of Concern
The Fabian case is not an isolated incident. Activist group Heroes for Zero reports that police have been involved in at least 11 fatal collisions in Brussels since 2017. The first traffic fatality of 2026 in Brussels was also caused by a police vehicle — a pedestrian killed in Elsene on January 19, as reported by HLN.
Family’s Cautious Response
Ludmila Bulgar, the advocate for Fabian’s family, offered a measured assessment. “There have been more fatal collisions involving the police since the tragedy with Fabian,” she told VRT NWS. “I hope that new rules on priority driving can help. But that remains to be seen.”
She welcomed the park vehicle restrictions, saying: “Police vehicles do not belong on a grass field in a park, where people are not paying attention and should not have to pay attention. That is a good thing — it could have prevented Fabian’s death.”
What’s Next
A memorial — an oak tree, bench, and plaque — was unveiled in Elisabethpark on February 2, 2026. A memorial gathering is planned for May 31. But for the family and advocates, the question remains whether Belgium will enact the structural reforms needed to prevent another tragedy.
With the judicial investigation still open, the circular letter still pending, and no national mandate for priority driving training, many of the changes demanded in the wake of Fabian’s death remain works in progress. As HLN reported, the issue continues to stir public emotion — with activists targeting a police event for children in Koekelberg as recently as May 18.
The tragedy sparked a national conversation. Whether that conversation leads to lasting change is still an open question.