The Brussels Riots: Follow-Up

-Photo: Le Libre (BE)

"Following these events, during which 15 police officers were injured in total, Kelly explains that she has lost all of her motivation. She asks herself if she still wants to be a police officer in Brussels, a city where respect for the uniform is lost, according to her. 'The prosecutor's office doesn't pursue (these cases), and the judges give out ridiculous punishments. We are not supported. The motivation is still there, but more than ever, we have the impression of being alone, abandoned by politics and justice. This demonstration should never have been authorized,' she laments."-Le Libre

The Belgian capital of Brussels was hit by riots this week over the death of a 23-year-old immigrant while in police custody. Here is what we posted this week from the Flemish (Dutch)-language daily, De Morgen.

Here is an article today from the Belgian French-language daily, Le Libre.  It recounts the experience of a female police officer who was injured during the riots. Translation by Fousesquawk.

https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/societe/la-policiere-rouee-de-coups-lors-de-la-manifestation-a-bruxelles-a-craint-pour-sa-vie-sans-ma-combinaison-je-n-aurais-probablement-pas-survecu-6001aa30d8ad5844d18676dd

The female police officer beaten during the protest in Brussels feared for her life: "Without my (protective clothing) I probably wouldn't have survived"

Posted 1-15-21 at 3:45 pm- Updated 1-15-21 at 3:52 pm.

Fortunately, the policewoman feels better today.

The demonstration in tribute to the young Ibrahima this Wednesday evening gave way to riots and scenes of extreme violence. Among the videos disseminated that evening, we can see a policewoman being kicked while she is still on the ground. If today, she is almost recovered, nevertheless, she had to be hospitalized because she showed signs of paralysis. The day after her attack, the officer recounted the events with our colleagues from Nieuwsblad. "I have just gotten out of the hospital. Last night the tingling sensation in my legs disappeared. I still have pain all over but the pain medication relieves (it), I am covered in bruises, but I will probably make a full recovery." 
Kelly, mother of a little 9-year-old boy, was called in for backup after she had finished her service after the incidents in progress in Schaerbeek (district in Brussels). The policewoman explains that a group of rioters rushed her and her colleagues as they were trying to secure a street. She lost her balance and wound up on the ground, for several seconds, she was kicked in the belly and face. "Suddenly, I heard a man scream. He asked them to stop and told them that I was a woman, not a man. It was a resident of the district, a Moroccan, I believe. He saved me from these young men by intervening. My colleagues were able to get rid of their attackers and immediately took me under their (wing). I am very grateful to this man and to my colleagues. If I wasn't wearing my robocop protective clothing, I probably wouldn't have survived," she confides.
Following these events, during which 15 police officers were injured in total, Kelly explains that she has lost all of her motivation. She asks herself if she still wants to be a police officer in Brussels, a city where respect for the uniform is lost, according to her. "The prosecutor's office doesn't pursue (these cases), and the judges give out ridiculous punishments. We are not supported. The motivation is still there, but more than ever, we have the impression of being alone, abandoned by politics and justice. This demonstration should never have been authorized," she laments.