“I have never had a problem with the police, I have a clean record, I never hang out …” To sum up, Yanis, 22, does not understand what happened to him on January 21, in Pierrefitte -on-Seine (Seine-Saint-Denis). That day, the young man returns home, by car, and meets, around 4.30 p.m., a crew of the municipal police.
“It was at an intersection. They were parked on the side. I wanted to turn left, the four policemen got out of their car, one of them started banging on my car, insulting me, telling me that the access was blocked. I backed up to his height, and through the open window, I explained to him that there was no indication that I could not pass. He put a straight right in my face. Another said to me: Get out of the way, Down’s syndrome ! “To his complaint, which we have consulted, the young man attached a medical certificate stating a hematoma on the cheekbone and total incapacity for work (ITT) for one day.
The young man, who is currently taking work-study training as a supermarket manager, indicates that his father and older brother rushed to the scene after the incident. “My father asked for an explanation, the policeman denied hitting me, and said that I forced my way. My father asked him for his registration number, he refused to give him… ”
This Tuesday evening, Yanis and his family were received by the mayor (PS) of the city, Michel Fourcade, who announced that “the offending policeman will be punished”. The municipality indicates that it has summoned the agent in question at the beginning of next week. “If there is a malfunction, we will treat it, of course. It is not right that this young man, a student, who works, should be treated like this. “
The mayor castigates an “anti-police opposition”
Michel Fourcade refuses to establish the slightest link between this incident and the various accusations which have recently targeted his municipal police. “I am not aware of other complaints, he sweeps. Everything else is a manipulation on the part of an anti-police opposition, which does not accept the existence of the municipal police. “
However, another complaint was filed last August with the Saint-Denis police station. It was the site “Les Jours” which reported on this recently. The complainant, a quadragenarian Pierrefittois “80% disabled” claims to have been brutalized and insulted by several officials: “I did not want to leave social service, they fell to me four above.”
At least five complaints filed, in particular for acts of violence
And other complaints must follow, announces Yohan Sales, opposition counselor (LFI) of Pierrefitte. The lawyer Xavier Sauvignet indicates that he will address to the Bobigny prosecutor five complaints (including at least one of the two already filed with the local police stations), “essentially for acts of violence by a person holding public authority, and for discrimination ”. “We are also going to refer the matter to the Defender of Rights for breaches of ethics”, specifies Me Sauvignet.
“It is time for the mayor to recognize the shortcomings,” said Yohan Sales for his part. We alerted several times, but the mayor saw only a purely political action. It’s a shame to get there… ”The elected official had notably denounced in November the wearing, by certain agents, of a badge bearing the effigy of the“ Punisher ”, recovered by far-right movements, then relayed videos and testimonies implicating officials.
Newsletter The essential of 93
A tour of current events in Seine-Saint-Denis and the IDF
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Michel Fourcade, for his part, defends his troops. In his eyes, the only serious incident is the one that occurred last week. “The police have to behave properly, that’s a fact. But it also faces systematic and organized provocations. The city council also announces that it wants to equip its agents with pedestrian cameras “to resolve this type of situation”.
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