Calls for ban on police patrol cars in parks following tragedy

A proposal from Ecolo-Groen in Schaerbeek calls for banning motorised police patrols in parks following the death of a young boy who was struck by a police car during a chase through Elisabeth Park.

The text proposes prioritising a "soft" police presence (on foot, by bicycle or on horseback) in Schaerbeek's green spaces, as well as an evaluation of intervention practices and driver training. It also calls for greater clarity in internal guidelines governing prosecutions.

“This tragedy confronts us with a fundamental question: how can we prevent this from happening again?” said municipal councillor Isabelle Durant.

Reactions to the proposal were mixed, with majority party PS warning against polarisation and Quentin van den Hove (LB/Open VLD) referring to "unfair generalisation" towards police officers.

Independent municipal councillor Georges Verzin described the proposal as an “instrumentalisation” of the tragedy.

But proponents of the ban emphasise that it is important to have trust between police and the communities they serve.

“This motion is not directed against the police, it’s an invitation to reflect together, in the interests of the relationship between citizens and the police,” said Anton Schuurmans (CD&V).

Mayor Audrey Henry announced that a debate would take place at the police council meeting on 3 July, followed by an in-depth discussion with the area’s police commander in September.

In terms of the place in which the tragedy occurred, no ban is forthcoming for Elisabeth Park, according to the Brussels West police council.

The council did state that "the presence of motorised patrols will be limited as much as possible", but stopped short of a ban in spite of increasing pressure after the death of an 11-year-old boy.

“I suggested years ago, in this police council, that it makes more sense to patrol the park by bicycle, because many residents have been annoyed by the police cars in the park for some time,” said councillor Marie Bijnens (Ecolo-Groen).

“It is more efficient and more humane, and above all because it is safer for everyone.”

Mohamad Chehade (PS) has also explicitly called for a ban and referred to alternatives such as bicycle or horse patrols.

The police said it does not have horses at its disposal and that while they want to focus more on foot and bicycle patrols, it was proving difficult in practice.

“Despite the fact that vacancies for our bicycle brigade are constantly being advertised, the number of inspectors is very limited: six out of a planned total of 12,” a report from the police zone said.

“For the past two years, we’ve been encouraging the use of electric bicycles, which are available to staff at our district police stations. We will redouble our efforts to promote their use, but we cannot force police officers to use them.”

Questions were also raised as to whether work will be done on the so-called "child test", in which officers learn how to deal with minors. According to the report, such a test is not yet part of the guidelines or training, although there is an intention to integrate it in the near future.

The idea of a formal risk register with adapted intervention rules for vulnerable areas such as schools, playgrounds and parks was also discussed. This does not currently exist in the zone, which the report said was partly because it is a very densely populated urban area.

“Given this reality, drawing up such a preventive register would cover a very large, if not the largest, part of the territory,” the report reads.

“This would therefore limit its operational relevance and concrete application in the field.”

The report promises that police will take this into consideration when revising internal guidelines.