Battered Boas in Osdorp: “Youth groups think they can appropriate the street”

Last Sunday, the Boas wanted to intervene when they saw a boy destroy something in the Albert Heijn in the Pieter Calandlaan. When they attempted to arrest the boy, the boas were suddenly attacked by a group of nine to eleven young men, who were allegedly summoned by the fleeing suspect.

“There have been serious blows,” says Ruud Kuin of the NBB. Two boas were slightly injured and two more heavy, including concussions and bruises in the hospital. In images that AT5 A witness has shown that four or five boas are attacked by the group. Some members of that group flee on foot after the fight, others climb into a car parked on the sidewalk. They leave on screeching tires. The police do not arrive until some time later.

According to Kuin, the incident fits the picture of the current crown crisis. “The army is out and youth groups now believe they can take over the street, unarmed boas are being targeted,” Kuin refers to the long-standing discussion about whether boas should be defended as pepper spray and a cane.

Kicked, hit and spit

Sunday’s incident is not an isolated incident. In Rotterdam, five boas were injured that same day when they were kicked, beaten, and spat on by a large group of people. Two boas initially addressed a group of six people who did not abide by the crown rules. When they wanted to issue fines, people suddenly came everywhere today. “Those boas were really attacked,” says Kuin. Colleagues who came to the rescue were also beaten.

Although the violent incidents on Sunday are in an out-of-the-way category, Kuin says the last few days as more and more members are hearing that irritation at the crown’s measures is growing. “People become lax by complying with the 1.5-meter distance rule and when boas are brought near them, they become more irritated, which applies to both young and old.”