A police officer entering the police station in St. Eustatius.
ST. EUSTATIUS--Suspect H.S. (1983) threatened and attacked an off-duty officer of the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force KPCN at a barber shop on Heyligerweg on Saturday, January 30. He is well-known to the police and has been in contact with the judicial authorities for different violent crimes over the years.
After threatening the officer there was a small altercation in the barber shop between the man and the officer. The suspect then left and returned to the barber shop with a knife in his hand. As the doors of the shop were locked from the inside, the suspect tried to break down the door and break the glass. The off-duty officer called for backup and the police arrived.
Chief of Basic Police Care in St. Eustatius Police Inspector Robelto Hodge said some force was used, as the suspect resisted his arrest. The knife was confiscated.
The suspect in this case is a substance abuser. He had previous convictions over the years for various violent crimes. There also is a pending case in which the suspect allegedly attacked and ill-treated an individual with a machete. That case is already in the hands of the prosecutor. The file has been completed and the case is pending trial.
The case concerning Saturday’s altercation is still under investigation, with the suspect in preventive custody. Several witnesses have been heard and security-camera footage has been secured.
Hodge said the police officer was at the barbershop to have a haircut and the suspect allegedly started to threaten him. This is an ongoing situation, according to Hodge, as the suspect on several occasions has threatened the officer, also in the presence of his family.
Hodge said the suspect had been reprimanded about this conduct in the past, but that did not seem to help the situation. Instead, it seemed to escalate to the point where he was arrested Saturday.
