A man on Bonaire is bitten by a dog in the evening. The Dutch Caribbean Police Force (Korps Politie Caribisch Nederland, KPCN) receives a report about a dog bite. Two officers attend the scene and try to discover what has happened. Based on witness statements that identify Mrs Bakker’s (not her actual name) dog as the dog that inflicted the bite, the officers decide to call the vet to have Mrs Bakker’s dog put to sleep. Mrs Bakker submits a complaint about it.
The approach adopted in local regulations on Bonaire is that as soon as any dog is running loose on the public road without supervision and capturing the dog is not an option, the police can kill the dog.
The National Ombudsman has reached the conclusion that the KPCN acted too quickly in having the dog put to sleep. There was insufficient investigation of whether less severe measures could have been taken. This is because it was possible for the vet to attend the scene and the dog was by then on a leash in the front garden. As a result, this does not appear (at that stage) to be a case of immediate danger and of a dog running loose without supervision. For that reason, the idea that the police had no option of capturing the dog does not appear to apply in this case. Aside from whether there are resources or expertise available to capture and seize dogs, this did give the officers the space and time to make a careful assessment. They could have made contact with Mrs Bakker in order to investigate any counterarguments more closely and to consider less severe measures. The National Ombudsman recommends that the KPCN draw up guidance outlining how officers should act in the case of dog bites.
In addition, the National Ombudsman takes the view that the KPCN should have made contact with Mrs Bakker after she had submitted a complaint. The decision about the complaint could also have been explained more clearly. The National Ombudsman therefore makes the recommendations always to make personal contact if a citizen has submitted a complaint and to provide proper reasons for the response to complaints.
