An international lawyer alleged on Thursday that she was attacked by two Dutch police officers due to her race, leaving her in the hospital. The American lawyer, Chaka Laguerre, claims [Independent report] that she was “brutalised, arrested and thrown into jail” after two officers stopped her Tuesday morning for walking her bike across the road on a red light. The police department in The Hague [official website], where Laguerre works at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website], has denied [POLITIE report] these allegations, claiming that it was necessary to take Laguerre to the police station because she “kept resisting.” The police intend to file a complaint with the ICJ over Laguerre’s allegations. Lagueere posted her complaint about the officers’ treatment on Facebook. She contends that after being stopped and unable to provide the police with adequate ID, she was beaten up and dragged into the car. The police in return state that Laguerre attempted to “escape the grip of the police” and “kept resisting.” The police also claim that they have CCTV footage of the entire incident.

The use of racial profiling by law enforcement officials has been an ongoing topic of discussion. In October 2015 California Governor Jerry Brown signed a new bill [JURIST report] meant to curb racial profiling and the use of excessive force. That August Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced [JURIST report] plans to issue new guidelines significantly limiting the use of racial profiling in policing as an effort to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. In 2014 the UN Committee Against Torture urged the US [report, PDF] to open investigations [JURIST report] into all cases of police brutality and excessive use of force by police officers. The committee expressed concern over the use of force against certain people and the use of “racial profiling by police and immigration offices,” among other tactics used by law enforcement.