The commander of the Hollands-Midden police force has ordered an internal investigation into a police officer who fooled a detainee with a pack of chewing gum he bought at a novelty shop. When the detainee, a German student at Leiden University, accepted the pack of gum he received an electric shock.

A police spokesperson said the student’s story appeared to check out, but added that “We do not want to jump to conclusions, but if it really happened this way it was highly unprofessional.’’

Stephan Ulrich was detained because of an altercation over a bicycle. The student thought his bike was being stolen when it was in fact being seized by two police officers. The student broke his wrist in the ensuing struggle.

The police cannot yet say whether the officer who offered the student the fake gum was also involved in his arrest but the student is convinced this was the case.

Stephan Ulrich said he had already spent a few hours at the police station without receiving medical attention when the police officer who broke his wrist entered his cell. When the officer offered him chewing gum Mr Ulrich assumed he was trying to apologize for what happened earlier. According to Mr Ulrich “That’s when I suddenly received an electric shock! The officer couldn’t stop laughing; he thought it was really incredibly funny.”

(gsh)

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide