Belgian Court Acquits Four Officers in Wetteren Death

DENDERMONDE, Belgium — A Belgian court has acquitted four police officers of all charges related to the death of 26-year-old Dylan Den Haese, who died in January 2022 after a police intervention in Wetteren, East Flanders. The Dendermonde Court of First Instance ruled on Tuesday that the officers’ use of a vascular neck restraint — commonly known as a “blood choke” — was legally justified given the circumstances, and that their failure to perform CPR did not constitute criminal negligence.

The Incident

On the night of January 12–13, 2022, police were called to Den Haese’s apartment in Wetteren after a neighbor reported hearing shouting. According to VRT NWS, officers found Den Haese outside on the street, and a confrontation escalated. One officer applied a vascular neck restraint — a technique taught in Belgian police academies that cuts off blood flow to the brain, intended only for exceptional circumstances. Den Haese lost consciousness, turned blue, and was not resuscitated for approximately seven minutes until an ambulance arrived. He died three days later in hospital from brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation.

The Court’s Ruling

The court found that the use of the neck restraint was justified because Den Haese was exhibiting extreme aggression, which the judges described as displaying “superhuman strength” (buitenaardse krachten). According to Het Laatste Nieuws, even with four officers present, they could not control Den Haese through conventional means. The court also determined that the duration of the restraint could not be proven to have been excessive.

On the charge of criminal negligence for failing to provide timely medical assistance, the court accepted that the officers made an error in judgment by believing Den Haese was merely unconscious — they detected a pulse — rather than in cardiac arrest. However, the judges ruled this fell short of criminal negligence, as the officers acted to the best of their ability given their limited medical training.

A Mother’s Grief

During the trial in April 2026, Den Haese’s mother, Melinda, delivered an emotional statement to the court. “With a snap of your fingers, you took the life of my child — whom I carried and cherished, for whom I fought to get out of his problems — and destroyed mine,” she said, as reported by HLN. “It must stop that some police officers think they are above the law. If this goes unpunished, I can also strangle someone.”

The Body Camera Question

A significant point of contention in the case is that the body cameras of all four officers were not recording during the intervention. This meant there was no video evidence of what transpired, leaving the court to rely on witness testimony and forensic evidence. The family’s legal team has questioned why the cameras were off and whether footage was deleted — questions that remain unanswered.

Legal Framework and Charges

The case was heard in the Dendermonde Correctional Court. The public prosecutor acknowledged that prosecuting police officers is “exceptional” in Belgium and requested only a “principled punishment” rather than a specific sentence, acknowledging that none of the officers intended Den Haese’s death.

One officer — the one who applied the neck restraint — faced charges of intentional assault and battery resulting in death, as well as criminal negligence. The three other officers were charged only with criminal negligence for failing to provide timely medical assistance. All four were acquitted on all counts.

What’s Next

Following the verdict, the family’s lawyer, Laura Otte, indicated a high likelihood of appeal. “There is a good chance that this case will not end here,” Otte said, as reported by HLN. The family maintains that the officers used excessive force, that the neck restraint was unjustified, and that the police initially misrepresented what happened.

The case has drawn comparisons to the death of George Floyd in the United States, though the legal outcomes differed significantly. It also raises broader questions about police use of force in Belgium, the use of vascular neck restraints, body camera protocols, and police training on medical emergencies. All four officers remain active in the Wetteren-Laarne-Wichelen police zone.

As the legal saga potentially continues, the underlying societal questions about police accountability and the use of potentially lethal restraint techniques remain unresolved.