It was four and a half years ago. On the evening of the Fête de la Musique, Steve Maia Caniço, a 24-year-old after-school entertainer, disappeared after a police operation intended to stop an electro evening organized on the banks of the Loire on the island of Nantes. His body was found in the river more than a month later, on July 29. Two people were then indicted: Johan Mougenot, chief of staff of the prefect of Loire-Atlantique, and Grégoire Chassaing, the commissioner who directed the controversial police intervention.
This Tuesday evening, we learned through the public prosecutor of Rennes that the two investigating magistrates finally decided to “dismiss the case” concerning Johan Mougenot on the grounds “that no gross fault could be noted on his part. against “.
“Inappropriate means given the situation”
On the other hand, Commissioner Chassaing was referred to the criminal court. He will be tried for “manslaughter”. He is accused of “advancement and arrests” on the Quai de Loire “even though the investigations demonstrated that other solutions were possible, in particular that of a withdrawal”.
Numerous tear gas grenades were thrown by police at the revelers present, some of whom refused to turn off the music and responded with projectiles. “This choice to immediately take this situation into account by inappropriate means with regard to the situation of the premises appears to constitute a clear fault having contributed to the fall in the Loire and the death of Steve Maia Caniço”, underlines the public prosecutor .
In this case, the other people placed under the status of assisted witness, like the former prefect of Loire-Atlantique, benefited from a dismissal of the case, we learned this Tuesday evening.