The Court of First In­stance in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba has convicted a for­mer police officer for unlawfully pointing his service weapon at several people during a New Year’s party in Saba following a scuffle with a civilian.

Gideon Makaai (31) was found guilty on Thursday for threaten­ing and perjury, the latter con­nected to lying about the inci­dent, which happened while he was off-duty. In her verdict, the judge ruled that Makaai should not have used his service weapon in that manner, and that he de­liberately exaggerated, concealed or distorted the facts and circum­stances in his subsequent report.

The judge sentenced Makaai to a four-month suspended sen­tence, two years’ probation and a five-year ban from working as a police officer. He has two weeks to appeal.

The incident reportedly started with Makaai and an intoxicated civilian party-goer exchanging words during the party at Ocean Club on January 1, 2024. They got into a physical altercation, after which Makaai — also report­edly intoxicated — pulled out his police-issued firearm and raised it toward the man and other guests at the popular restaurant and night-time bar.

Some bystanders tried to intervene and another off-duty officer reportedly struck at least one of them with a baton. Makaai continued to walk around the bar with the firearm in his hand, an act that was captured on a video taken by a mobile phone, which was shared widely on local social media at the time.

The Prosecutor’s Office quickly launched a criminal investigation into the inci­dent, while the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force KPCN also started an inter­nal investigation and placed the officer on suspension. KPCN officially fired Makaai in May 2024, citing severe dereliction of duty and be­haviour incompatible with police standards.

The New Year’s incident caused an uproar in the Sa­ban community and further strained the already tense re­lationship between residents and KPCN.

Just a month before, a KPCN officer had fired three warning shots into the air during a party to celebrate Saba Day as her colleagues were struggling to break up a fight between three men. This use of force had caused some to question the appar­ent ease with which police officers were drawing their firearms.

The Daily Herald.

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On July 31, 2025, the Court of First Instance in Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius convicted former police officer G. M. of making threats and of perjury.

The now-dismissed KPCN officer was temporarily stationed on Saba during the 2024 New Year’s Eve celebrations and was spending his off-duty hours at a local bar/restaurant. There, M. became involved in a disturbance, after which he drew his service weapon and pointed it at several people.

The incident stirred quite a commotion on Saba at the time. The National Criminal Investigation Department, under the direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office BES, conducted an extensive investigation into the violent incident, after which the public prosecutor decided to prosecute police officer M.

In her judgment, the judge ruled that M. should not have used his service weapon in that manner on the night in question and that he was therefore guilty of making threats. The judge further found that M. had deliberately exaggerated, concealed, or distorted facts and circumstances in his subsequent report.

The judge sentenced M. to a four-week suspended sentence with a probation period of two years. In addition, M. received an additional penalty of a professional ban prohibiting him from working as a police officer for five years.

M. has two weeks to appeal this sentence.

Openbaar Ministerie BES.