Belgian cop's dilemma after bombing: help victims or catch terrorists
He describes his dilemma after Brussels bombing - help victims or catch terrorists - at inaugural conference
Three suicide bombers killed 32 civilians at Brussels Airport and at a metro station in central Brussels, Belgium, in 2016.
The coordinated attacks left more than 300 people injured.
As victims lay on the ground at the airport, some with missing body parts, First Commissioner Jean-Pierre Devos of the Belgian Federal Police, had difficult decisions to make.
As one of the first officers at the scene, does he save the dying or find other possible terrorists before they killed more people?
He spoke at the launch of the inaugural Police Specialist Conference Singapore at Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar yesterday.
He was one of six speakers from foreign police and military units invited by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to share their experiences and lessons in dealing with past terror attacks. The conference ends tomorrow.
It was launched by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Health Amrin Amin.
Commissioner Devos said: "You train a lot, but my experience is that reality is a little bit different.
"The biggest challenge for me personally is that, on the one hand, you are a police officer. But on the other hand, you have victims on the ground screaming for help."
He said he faced a dilemma: focus on police operations or help the victims.
In the end, Commissioner Devos chose to help the victims.
He said: "To be honest, I am a human being first. I went for the victims, and then I did my police job."
In his opening speech, Mr Amrin said the threat of terrorism was evolving, and it was necessary for law enforcement to evolve too.
He said: "We must recognise that our traditional methods of dealing with this evolved threat are becoming less effective.
"We need to adapt and adjust our strategies accordingly."
He said that was why the conference was launched.
He said: "We envision this conference to be a forum for specialist officers to exchange ideas, share best practices and learn from each other."
BETTER PREPARED
Assistant Commissioner of Police Arthur Law, the deputy director (development) of the SPF's operations department, said the experiences of foreign law enforcement units with terrorism will help the SPF be better prepared.
He said: "They've dealt with past terror incidents. Their sharing and experiences will be very important for us.
"Terrorism is a global threat, and we all need to come together as an international community to deal with it."
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