A 5% salary reduction for one year. The internal sanction taken against a police officer has been confirmed in court. In a judgment of February 11, the judges of the Administrative Chamber reveal an episode not very shining in the history of the Geneva police.
The facts go back to 2014: one night, a man is interrogated at the station. Obviously, the gendarmes have nothing tangible against him. Instead of simply releasing him, the apparently frustrated officials take him by car and leave him in the dark and secluded Vessy in the middle of the night.
“Of course a mistake”
At the time, the man was afraid of his life because he thought the police wanted to kill him. “They never intended to hurt him,” said Robert Assaël, lawyer for one of the agents, today. Thinking the individual was selling narcotics, they wanted to take him home to see where he lived and potentially conceal the drugs. This person has taken them all over Carouge. At one point, they asked Vessy, which of course was a mistake. “
A. was there that night. He was a young trainee at the time, unlike B. After the facts, an information from the third colleague of the patrol arrived on the office of the hierarchy, specifying that B. would have even hit the victim.
Last year, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which had entrusted the police (the General Service Inspectorate) with investigations, sentenced A. and B. to a suspended monetary penalty. A. did not contest the criminal sanction, unlike B., who will appear before the Police Court this year.
Prescription for one
Once the criminal investigation was completed, the department closed its administrative investigation and sanctioned last June B., pronouncing against him a degradation of a duration of two years. For his part, A. suffered a reduction in wages for a year.
The two men called on the authorities. B., defended by Me Alain Berger, seized the Administrative Chamber, which concluded at the end of last year that the prescription applied against this policeman: “It is established that both the counselor of State that the commander learned of the facts justifying a sanction in 2014. Thus, at the time of the opening of the administrative investigation on November 22, 2018, the disciplinary action was prescribed. ”
Represented by Me Robert Assaël, A., he did not pass between the drops. Why? The authorities consider that they learned, much later than in the case of B., of the role played by A. on the night of the facts: “The Council of State became aware of the involvement of A. at the earliest on July 18 2018, upon receipt of a copy of the criminal proceedings. The decree issued on June 6, 2019 by the Council of State was thus issued within 11 months and 12 days, less than a year after the discovery of the facts. “
It follows that disciplinary responsibility was not time-barred either: “As the alleged acts took place on June 10, 2014, the absolute five-year limitation period expired on June 10, 2019. The disciplinary sanction having been pronounced on 6 June, absolute prescription was not acquired. ”
In the eyes of Mr. Robert Assaël, this decision is legally false: “In my opinion, the prescription had intervened. The Federal Court will be seized. This decision is also shocking, because my client is ultimately punished because his colleague did not target him in his information. “
He denied the facts
And the Chamber adds: “At the material time, A. intentionally completed the daybook by mentioning that the person arrested had been released from the premises after the identity checks, while such n was not the case, notes the judgment of February 11. A. partly denied the facts since he persisted in alleging that he intended to drive the victim home and that the victim had taken them all over Carouge. ” However, the judges consider that the police never sought the home of the injured party. “AT. never distanced himself from B.’s behavior, although he admitted that it was not customary to do so. “
Counsel for A. claims that he never invoked his trainee status to reduce his liability: “On the other hand, for the administrative investigator, it is hard to imagine a trainee making the decision to leave an individual in the wild. My client is an excellent police officer, investing in his work, with professionalism and skills. He has received several congratulations and his periodic reviews are complimentary. No doubt he will never have justice again. ”
Created: 02/29.2020, 08h56
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