A man died in mid-December in Paris after being hit by a biker from the Brav-M, a controversial police unit, and an investigation was opened to “determine the circumstances” of this death, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. has 20 minutesconfirming information from Mediapart.
The investigation “for involuntary manslaughter by a driver” follows a fatal accident involving a Brav-M motorcycle and a local resident, born in 1939, who was crossing Avenue de Flandre at a green light for pedestrians, Tuesday December 12 in the 19th arrondissement of the capital, adds the Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation entrusted to the IGPN and the Judicial Accident Processing Service
It was entrusted to the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) and the Judicial Accident Processing Service (STJA).
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the victim’s condition deteriorated rapidly after the accident and she died in hospital the next day.
The biker from the Brav-M, a unit regularly criticized for its violent management of law enforcement, “was trying to avoid a third party vehicle” when he “knocked down” the victim, indicates the Police Prefecture. Another police source assured that the victim was “an elderly man who was very drunk, which undoubtedly explains the accident”.
The police highlight the victim’s drunkenness
According to Mediapart, the police officers involved indicated that “the biker was not able to avoid this passerby, “a bottle in his hand, appearing drunk”, otherwise he would have “hit a van parked in a double file””. The police indicated that their speed “would not have been excessive”, according to the online investigation site.
The police source confirmed that this accident occurred while the Brav-M column was responding “to a request for reinforcement from a crew from the Local Security Directorate of the Paris metropolitan area”.
A very controversial brigade
The Brav-M (Motorized Brigades for the Repression of Violent Action) were created in spring 2019 after the violence that occurred during the “yellow vest” demonstrations.
These units travel on motorcycles to maintain order during demonstrations in Paris. More mobile than the CRS or mobile gendarmes, their mission consists of coming into contact with violent elements to stop the damage and arrest them.
They are the subject of several legal investigations for violence against demonstrators, particularly during mobilizations against pension reform.
Their dismantling was requested by several deputies from La France insoumise (LFI) or citizen petitions.