A police officer will appear before the Paris Criminal Court for having injured a man with an LBD shot during the demonstration of “yellow vests” on December 1, 2018 in Paris, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. confirming information from Mediapart. This 33-year-old policeman will be tried for willful violence resulting in total incapacity for work for more than eight days, committed by a person holding public authority with the use of a weapon.
During this demonstration which constituted act 3 of the “yellow vests”, this policeman belonging to the 11th intervention company of the direction of public order and traffic of the police headquarters had fired with his LBD 40 on a demonstrator, touching him in the face and notably tearing off part of his gum. That day, the demonstration had given rise to several insurrectionary scenes, in particular around the Arc de Triomphe which had been ransacked.
Not “proportionate to the trouble to be stopped”
In her dismissal order of March 30, consulted by AFP, the investigating judge in charge of the investigations considers that it “has not been proven” that the use by the police officer of his weapon “was absolutely necessary” and “proportionate to the disturbance to be stopped”. For the magistrate, the investigation did not show that the victim, who was in an avenue leading to the Place de l’Etoile, had thrown projectiles in the direction of the police, nor that he had lifted arm with the intention of throwing it away, or even that he was one of the rioters.
Moreover, “it is also not established that the use of the 40 mm LBD […] was the only possible deterrent to neutralize “the victim, even if it would have” presented a sign of threat or danger “, writes the judge. His analysis goes against the requisitions of the prosecution, which had requested that a dismissal be pronounced in this case.
The victim’s lawyer is happy with the decision
Contacted by AFP, the policeman’s lawyer, Me Anne-Laure Compoint, declared that she reserved her “observations for the court, in this particular case, where the public prosecutor and the investigating judge had no the same legal assessment.
“I am satisfied with this decision, which rigorously assesses the facts and the conditions of use of the LBD40, unlike the current movement of automatic characterization of self-defense as soon as a police officer claims to have felt in danger”, commented for his part. Me Chloé Chalot, lawyer for the victim. “My client’s situation unfortunately once again demonstrates the dangerousness of the weapons used in France to maintain order,” she added.