In a closely watched verdict delivered on June 30, judge Cynthia Klein has cleared all seven police officers implicated in the deadly 2023 Pikin Saron shooting incident, dismissing all charges against the group over the killing of two local men, Martinus Wolfjager and Ivanildo Dijksteel.
The officers had faced allegations of using excessive, disproportionate force during unrest that broke out in the village of Pikin Saron on May 2, 2023. Prosecutors had initially pushed for a 12-month suspended sentence with a three-year probation period, bringing a suite of charges including manslaughter, aggravated assault resulting in death, and negligent homicide. But in her final ruling, Judge Klein concluded that the evidence presented by the prosecution did not meet the standard required for a conviction, leading to full acquittals across all counts.
The case drew intense public scrutiny after a forensic pathologist’s report, discussed during an earlier court session, offered key conflicting findings. The report confirmed based on bullet trajectory analysis that the two deceased men were not fleeing when they were shot — if they had been running away, the entry and exit wounds would have been found at a different elevation, the document noted. The pathologist also found that the victims could have survived their injuries if they had received urgent medical care promptly. Instead, they died of severe blood loss after being left on the ground for an extended period without treatment.
At the time of Tuesday’s ruling, one of the seven acquitted officers was absent from the court chamber, while another remains outside the country. Following the delivery of the verdict, all officers present were permitted to leave the courtroom immediately. The outcome closes a high-profile legal case that has stirred public debate over police use of force and accountability in the South American nation.