The police officer who shot dead a 17-year-old youth at a railway station last November has been found not guilty of manslaughter and will not face further prosecution, a court in The Hague ruled on Monday.

Rishi Chandrikasing was shot in the early hours of the morning after reports that an armed man had been threatening other passengers.

The youth was shot after being ordered to stand still and put his hands up. Instead he started to run and reached into his pocket, leading one officer to shoot him. The youth was hit in the neck and died later in hospital.

Stress

The court said the policeman had no other option for stopping Rishi other than to shoot him in the leg. The stress of the situation and the fact both the youth and police officer were moving led to the bullet hitting his neck instead.

The public prosecutor Wouter Bos had earlier called for a not guilty verdict. The officer in question was not in court and his identity has been kept secret.

The lawyer for the family described the verdict as very sad. Michael Ruperti told Nos television a ‘lot of words had been used to dismiss this as a work-related accident’. Ruperti cannot appeal against the verdict because the family was not part of the case.

However, he told reporters afterwards he is considering launching civil proceedings against the government for abuse of power and a possible appeal to the European court of human rights.