Why was the final officer acquitted over the deaths of Ouassim and Sabrina?
The Nivelles criminal court acquitted the final Brussels police officer prosecuted over the 2017 collision that killed Ouassim Toumi and Sabrina El Bakkali, finding that his attempt to intercept their motorcycle was neither unreasonable nor disproportionate.
The judgment determines the criminal responsibility of the final officer still prosecuted, but its significance extends to public confidence in police accountability and the standards used to assess high-risk pursuits. For residents navigating Belgian justice, the case also illustrates how one file can pass through the police court, criminal court, Court of Cassation and a referral court in another language area.
The on Wednesday, 26 August, acquitted the final officer prosecuted over the collision that killed , 24, and , 20, during a police pursuit on 9 May 2017. The immediate practical point for anyone following the case is that all three officers originally charged now stand acquitted; anyone entitled to the written decision should contact the registry, or greffe/griffie, of the court that delivered it rather than rely on abbreviated accounts of the ruling.
The officer had not begun the pursuit. After hearing radio traffic about a speeding motorcycle in Ixelles, or Elsene, he positioned his dog-unit vehicle on Avenue Louise to assist with the interception. Toumi’s motorcycle struck the police vehicle. Toumi died at the scene, while El Bakkali died in hospital later that night.
According to VRT NWS and BRUZZ, the court relied in part on a traffic expert’s findings that the police vehicle was visible, its blue lights were operating and two lanes remained available to the motorcycle. The court concluded that the position of the vehicle and the officer’s conduct were not disproportionate to the aim of stopping riding that presented an immediate danger to other people. The public prosecutor had also requested an acquittal.
That finding closes the latest stage of an unusually long and procedurally complicated case, but it does not erase the collision or the sharply different conclusions reached by earlier judges.
## How the case reached
In December 2023, the court convicted all three officers of involuntary homicide and imposed partly suspended prison terms. BRUZZ reported at the time that the court considered the officers insufficiently cautious and found several errors of judgment in the pursuit.
On appeal in November 2024, the criminal court acquitted the two officers who had initiated the chase. It maintained a conviction against the dog-unit officer, reducing his sentence to six months suspended. The families’ lawyers said that appellate court had treated a police pursuit as a form of coercion whose necessity and proportionality must be assessed, while finding that the officer who placed the vehicle in the motorcycle’s path had failed to act with the care expected of a prudent officer.
Belgium’s subsequently quashed that remaining conviction. Cassation does not normally retry the facts; it reviews whether the law and essential procedural requirements were correctly applied. The surviving part of the case was therefore sent for a fresh hearing in , where the officer was ultimately acquitted.
The new ruling turned on the assessment of the officer’s own conduct: whether placing the marked vehicle where he did constituted a fault that caused the deaths. Reporting by Het Nieuwsblad and The Times says the court answered no, citing the vehicle’s visibility, its warning lights and the lanes left open. This was not a finding that the deaths were unimportant or that every aspect of the pursuit was ideal. It was a criminal-law conclusion that the remaining defendant had not committed the offence alleged to the required standard of proof.
## Why the judgment remains contested
For the officer and his defence, the acquittal confirms their position that his response to an immediately dangerous rider was a proportionate police intervention. That view places weight on the expert reconstruction and on the operational decision confronting an officer who had only joined the incident after hearing it over the radio.
The families and their supporters have approached the case from a different starting point: two young people died during an intervention, and they argue that police choices helped create the fatal danger. After the 2024 appeal judgment, the families’ lawyers at Progress Lawyers said the pursuit had exposed Toumi, El Bakkali and other road users to unacceptable risks. Their account also disputed whether the motorcycle could realistically avoid a vehicle positioned near the tunnel exit.
Those positions explain why a formal acquittal is unlikely to settle the wider public argument. Criminal liability asks whether prosecutors proved a particular defendant’s fault and causal responsibility. Public scrutiny of police practice asks a broader question: whether a pursuit was necessary, how risks were communicated between units and what safeguards might prevent another death. The two tests overlap, but they are not identical.
For residents, including newcomers unfamiliar with Belgium’s divided institutional landscape, the case is also a reminder that the Brussels-Capital Region contains several local police zones and 19 communes/gemeenten. Ixelles/Elsene is part of the Brussels Capital Ixelles police zone, while criminal proceedings may move between courts and language areas through appeals or a Cassation referral. This retrial took place in French-speaking , in , although the events occurred in bilingual Brussels.
## Following a Belgian criminal case in practice
The explains that a decision by a court is a judgment, or vonnis/jugement, while a decision by a higher court is an arrest/arrêt. A copy can be requested from the registry of the court that issued it, although access depends on a person’s legal interest and the applicable court rules. Parties who missed the pronouncement should also ask the registry for information.
Victims and witnesses who do not speak the language used during a police interview have language rights. says police must use a sworn interpreter unless the officer can record the statement in the person’s language or asks the person to write it in that language. In , residents will commonly encounter Dutch and French labels—griffie/greffe, parket/parquet and politierechtbank/tribunal de police—while the federal Justice portal offers information in Dutch, French and German. English-language guidance is less comprehensive, so asking explicitly for an interpreter or translated explanation can matter.
Anyone directly affected by a suspected offence should report the facts promptly to a local commissariat and retain the procès-verbal/proces-verbaal number. Registering as an injured person, benadeelde persoon/personne lésée, can provide information about decisions in the file, while claiming compensation generally requires the separate step of joining proceedings as a civil party. These are general procedural rights, not a route to reopen this particular case.
The next formal question is whether a party with standing challenges the judgment and on what legal ground. No such step was confirmed in the reporting available on 26 August. Until the appeal position and full written reasoning are known, the secure conclusion is narrower: nine years after the fatal collision, the last officer still facing prosecution has been acquitted, leaving no police officer convicted in the case.
Impact
Regional — The deaths and the original police intervention occurred in Brussels, where debates about pursuit tactics, road safety and accountability remain particularly sensitive. The final retrial took place in Nivelles after Cassation referral, illustrating how a Brussels case can move into the Walloon judicial system.
Local — The deaths and original police intervention occurred in Brussels, making the judgment especially relevant to residents following local debates about police pursuits, road safety and accountability. The final retrial was held in Nivelles, in Walloon Brabant, after the Court of Cassation referral. That route shows how a case originating in Brussels can ultimately be reconsidered by a court in another Belgian region and language area. The reported judgment changes no announced traffic or policing rule in Brussels by itself.
What it means for you
The 26 August 2026 ruling does not create a new duty, deadline or cost for Brussels residents: it decides the remaining officer’s criminal responsibility in this specific case. Anyone directly involved should rely on their lawyer or the competent court for information about appeal rights and procedural deadlines, rather than assuming the file is definitively closed; reviewed reporting had not confirmed a further challenge. Readers seeking to understand Belgian proceedings can consult FPS Justice guidance on criminal-court hearings, interviews and language rights. No change to Brussels pursuit rules was announced with the judgment.
Opposing perspectives
- The acquitted officer and his defence
The defence maintained that the officer committed no criminal fault when he positioned his marked vehicle to intercept a motorcycle presenting an immediate danger. The Nivelles court accepted that the vehicle was visible, its warning lights were operating and sufficient road space remained, making the intervention proportionate to its purpose.
- The families and their legal representatives
The families’ side has argued that the pursuit and interception exposed Toumi, El Bakkali and other road users to excessive risks. After the 2024 appeal judgment, their lawyers said police pursuits must be assessed as coercive interventions and disputed the conclusion that the broader operation was necessary and proportionate.
- The public prosecutor
The prosecution requested an acquittal in the Nivelles retrial, indicating that it did not consider the remaining criminal allegation proved. Reporting on earlier stages also says prosecutors had sought acquittals before previous courts, although judges initially reached different conclusions.
Who, where and what
Key people, places and terms in this story
City and region where the police pursuit and fatal collision occurred.
Walloon province containing Nivelles, where the final retrial was held.
Twenty-four-year-old motorcycle rider who died at the collision scene in 2017.
Twenty-year-old passenger who died in hospital later on the night of the 2017 collision.
Walloon Brabant city where the referral court acquitted the remaining officer.
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Twenty-four-year-old motorcycle rider who died at the collision scene in 2017.
Twenty-year-old passenger who died in hospital later on the night of the 2017 collision.
City and region where the police pursuit and fatal collision occurred.
Walloon Brabant city where the referral court acquitted the remaining officer.
Walloon province containing Nivelles, where the final retrial was held.
Referral court that delivered the final officer’s acquittal on 26 August 2026.
Belgium’s highest court for reviewing legal and procedural correctness; it quashed the remaining conviction and referred the case.
Police service whose officers were prosecuted over the 2017 pursuit and interception attempt.
Belgian federal authority providing public guidance on criminal-court hearings and victims’ procedural and language rights.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceVRT NWSPrimaryprimary· vrtnws.be· 26 August 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 37 days ago· Dated
- View sourceBRUZZprimary· bruzz.be· 26 August 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 37 days ago· Dated
- View sourceThe Brussels Timescorroborating· brusselstimes.com· 26 August 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 37 days ago· Dated
- View sourceHet Nieuwsbladcorroborating· nieuwsblad.be· 26 August 2026Retrieved 26 August 2026· 37 days ago· Dated
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This briefing was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a Belgium Impulse editor before publication. methodology.