iHostage: Is Winston Based on a Real Police Officer?

Netflix’s ‘iHostage’ follows the true story of a crime that took place in an Apple store in Amsterdam in February 2022. The film uses different perspectives to tell all sides of the chilling tale that could have turned into a much worse thing. One of those points of view belongs to Winston, a police officer who is immediately called to the scene when the cops discover that a man named Ammar Ajar has held the place with guns and explosives. Over the course of the film, Winston remains on the sidelines, but the true purpose of his presence becomes clear only at the end. The same can be said about the real police officer who was in his place. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Winston’s Character Mirrors the Role of a Real DSI Officer

The events portrayed in ‘iHostage’ closely follow the things that happened on February 22, 2022. When Abdel Rahman Akkad stormed the place with the intention of holding everyone inside the store hostage and using them to make demands to the authorities, the tactical unit, called Dienst Speciale Interventies or DSI, was immediately brought into action. This elite unit is a part of the Dutch National Police Corps and is called in under extenuating circumstances like terrorist attacks and other high-risk situations. Akkad’s act was also seen as a terrorist attack, especially when it was revealed that he had a bomb vest, which he threatened to explode inside the building, which would cause a huge loss of life and property.

The DSI was instrumental in rescuing hostages, particularly the ones who were hidden on the first floor of the building without Akkad knowing about them. In the end, when the Bulgarian hostage, whom Akkad had been using as a shield, ran out of the store, it was a DSI officer who drove his car to hit Akkad and stop him from capturing the hostage again. The movie presents this real fact, but gives a fictional rendering to it. Keeping the privacy of the real-life officer, his name was not made public. All we know about him is that four months after the robbery, an investigation cleared him of any charges that could be placed against him. It was found that he had acted in good faith towards his responsibilities as an officer of the law, and hence, could not be prosecuted for running down Akkad.

Honoring the privacy of the officer, the film’s creators gave him a fictional name, Winston. From the details of the case, it is clear that Winston’s role in Ammar’s death is a representation of how Akkad died in real life. However, when it comes to his background story, there is a good chance that the writers used their own imagination to add a little personal conflict for him to make things a bit more dramatic and high-stakes for the character in the movie, while also making the audience sympathetic and invested in him. Their intentions bear fruit as the ups and downs in Winston’s journey make him one of the more compelling characters in the story, even though parts of him remain fictional.