Mourners claim diabetic man who died under arrest was “murdered”

Around 150 mourners gathered for the funeral procession of Alfredo Goeloe, a 51-year-old diabetic man who died under police custody, on Wednesday. The procession carried his body in a white coffin pulled by two white horses to the Zuiderbegraafplaats in Rotterdam, ten days after he collapsed while pinned to the ground and handcuffed.

Friends and family members carried banners with slogans expressing their grief, including "united against injustice because we care for each other." Yenci Vargas, a mourner, stated, "He was murdered. I’m not talking about racism, but he was murdered by the negligence and stupidity of the police." Marsha Mabosa added, "He was a very good dancer, and now we have to miss him in a very unjust way."

Goeloe was stopped by police while riding a fatbike through Rotterdam on September 12, initially suspected of theft but later alleged to be riding too fast. He resisted arrest and collapsed while being restrained on his stomach. Video footage captured him crying out he had diabetes and was in pain. Goeloe’s family filed a criminal complaint against four police officers, describing it as "a case of manslaughter, or in any event severe assault with fatal consequences."

Lawyers and a political scientist argued that the use of force by police was excessive and that there was no indication of protocol failure from the footage. However, they acknowledged the need to identify the suspect, which led to the forceful arrest.