Fightings at Blankenberge beach, Belgium

[LAKISYLVANIA]

A massive brawl broke out on the beach in Blankenberge on Saturday afternoon. Dozens of people took to each other, hundreds more were spectators. Beach bar materials, such as umbrellas and poles, were used as weapons. The mayor of Blankenberge reacts with shock. “My courage is now completely lost in my shoes.”

The fight broke out at a beach bar on the west side of Blankenberge. About 40 young people sat on a breakwater. A rescuer pointed out to them that this is prohibited. When they refused to leave, the police were called. Not much later the group turned against the agents, there was suddenly massive fighting and total chaos broke out. “Umbrellas and beach beds flew around, wind sail poles were used as weapons,” says a manageress of a nearby bar on the beach. Hundreds of people followed the sad spectacle on the dike.

The police arrived en masse: teams from De Haan / Bredene and Bruges sent reinforcements and the shipping police also arrived on the scene. Pepper spray and batons were used to calm the crowd. Even the lifeguards, who protected themselves with trays from a beach bar, were the victims. The police arrested a number of people.

“I think this is terrible,” said Mayor Daphné Dumery (N-VA) with a lump in the throat. “We spent a whole day trying to keep the masses on the right track, but now my heart is sinking. For people who mean it well and want to enjoy a day in Blankenberge, this is very bad. I am thinking of children and their parents. ” The clearly distressed mayor will sit with her security cell tonight at 7 pm to discuss the approach of tomorrow and the coming days. Most likely, drastic measures will follow.

Earlier it became known that the Blankenberge police had closed the Brugse Steenweg because of the crowds. The paved road is the main access road to the seaside town.

“We are doing this because too many vehicles are still driving towards Blankenberge,” said police spokesman Philip Denoyette. “That is why we decided to close the Blankenbergse Steenweg in the direction of Blankenberge at the intersection with the Canadezenstraat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xxylM03cLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xho4XMQSnOE

Corona measures, my ass lol.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Today was also the hottest august day ever recorded in Belgium and marks the start of a deadly and long-lasting heatwave while there are strict corona measures.

[CumbrianLefty]

Social distancing going well, then.

[Zinneke]

No need to go full Tender Branson with his Austroposting : these brawls look impressive on camera but correlating them with Corona or "omg immigrants!" or whatever when we know very little about the cause of it is premature. Its also "faits divers"...the media calling this a full scale riot is idiotic. Drunk, anti-social people get into fights all the time. The key is containing them.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Lol

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Massive brawls with hundreds of spectators always give me a throwback to Elizabethan England.

[SInNYC]

I find it interesting that the police mostly tried to establish order and did not charge in with riotgear and chokeholds. In one case where an angry guy threw an umbrella at the crowd and it landed on a policeman (I think), the policeman did not get angry and beat the guy to a pulp - instead others involved in the fightings held the guy back.

And no guns were drawn (I dont know if the police were armed with more than batons), no flash grenades were thrown, no teargas was used, nothing was done to get the fighters' hormones up.

Of course, I'm basing this on the few snippets I saw, so I might withdraw what I say if more comes out later.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

I find it interesting that the police mostly tried to establish order and did not charge in with riotgear and chokeholds. In one case where an angry guy threw an umbrella at the crowd and it landed on a policeman (I think), the policeman did not get angry and beat the guy to a pulp - instead others involved in the fightings held the guy back.

And no guns were drawn (I dont know if the police were armed with more than batons), no flash grenades were thrown, no teargas was used, nothing was done to get the fighters' hormones up.

Of course, I'm basing this on the few snippets I saw, so I might withdraw what I say if more comes out later.

Oh f**k the fact that an American has these priors about the police is really telling.

[parochial boy]

Well, I mean, what do you normally do on a Belgian beach apart from get frostbite?

[Zinneke]

I find it interesting that the police mostly tried to establish order and did not charge in with riotgear and chokeholds. In one case where an angry guy threw an umbrella at the crowd and it landed on a policeman (I think), the policeman did not get angry and beat the guy to a pulp - instead others involved in the fightings held the guy back.

And no guns were drawn (I dont know if the police were armed with more than batons), no flash grenades were thrown, no teargas was used, nothing was done to get the fighters' hormones up.

Of course, I'm basing this on the few snippets I saw, so I might withdraw what I say if more comes out later.

Belgian police are mostly armed. They just know that any use of their weapon in anything other than a force majeure way will land them in the deepest of problems. In this case it was a bunch of youths get rowdy. Take note, USA.

[njwes]

#BLM
#FtP

[Zinneke]

On the other hand, the police on the coast have now virtually admitted to racially profiling people coming off the trains. Boy we're just a few more steps from full Minority Report dystopic, pre-emptive policing. 

[LAKISYLVANIA]

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2020/08/10/three-youths-arrested-after-saturdays-beach-violence/

Three youths arrested after Saturday’s beach violence

An Examining Magistrate in the West Flemish city of Bruges has arrested three youths from Brussels on suspicion of deliberate assault and battery and armed rebellion. The three, all of whom were already known to the Judicial Authorities, were among dozens of young people that were involved in a violent clash on Blankenberge Beach in West Flanders on Saturday afternoon.
 
The news that the three suspects have now been arrested was released by the Bruges Judicial Authorities on Monday morning. The suspects were questioned on Sunday afternoon after which the decision was taken to arrest them.

The Bruges Public Prosecutor Fien Maddens told journalists that "The are suspected of, in group and armed with all kinds of material such as bottles, parasols and sun loungers, having attacked the police and life guards. Neither the authority of the police nor that of the life guards was respected”.

On Monday a court in Bruges formally charged the three suspects. They will remain in custody and will appear Bruges magistrates on Friday. 

During Saturday’s incident the Blankenberge/Zuienkerke Local Police Service was forced to call in reinforcements from several other local police services. A total of 120 officers were deployed to restore order on the beach. The operation involved offices from local, federal and maritime police services. Nine police officers were slightly injured.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

apparently there were gang members of Brussels there

[Zinneke]

apparently there were gang members of Brussels there

"gang" members, meaning small time wannabe intellectually immature gangsters because they listened to French rap who are barely over the drinking age limit that go there in a group, looking to impose themselves. Born into decrepit conditions, the state not letting them on in anything remotely constructive apart from some window dressing coding classes for the ones who want to get out of that. 

Best way to make them actual gang members? Send them to our underfunded, overcrowded prisons with the real gangsters. That way they build they get recruited and build their criminal contact book.

We need a total rethink about our integration and rehabilitation system. Its sad that what is actually a minor event may provoke the catalyst. I've lived in the Midi Zone, I've lived in Schaerbeek, and Molenbeek. The way Flemish people talk about it, you would think it was Mogadishu. We are not even at USA standards of insecurity and drugsrunning warfare. But it still requires an actually competent, interventionist state to resolve its problems, rather than talking shops designed to make our political class earn 20k per "committee meeting" and leaving it to extremely dodgy non-profits.