The case continues to shake the Brest police station. Accused of having wanted to raise the rivalry between the working-class neighborhoods of Pontanezen and Kerourien with a few offensive tags, the incriminated Brest BAC policeman is still in office. He has been changed service, but he continues to exercise, which drives some of his colleagues crazy. In February, an internal investigation was launched after the release of a photo showing an armed man dressed in a bulletproof vest tagging a wall in Brest. The inscription was clear: “Nike Kerourien”. A few weeks after these tags, the rival district of Pontanezen had been the scene of an outbreak of violence, punctuated by the mortar attack on a tram. Retaliation? Impossible to prove.
Two other tags were then discovered in the Pontanezen district, one of which specifically targeted a resident of the district, already known to the police: “G. nike Ponta”. A month after the disclosure of the facts in the press, the man mentioned in the policeman’s tag decided to file a complaint for public insults, provocation to commit a crime or misdemeanor and endangering the lives of others, learned 20 minutes.
“These messages make no sense. They just want to make it look like my client has gone over to the enemy. In the middle, one might suspect him of being a snitch. He runs a real risk. This is why we are attacking the endangerment, because it is real, ”explains Me Rabah Laraba, who defends the man with his Parisian colleague Sobieslaw Bemmoussat.
His client has left Brittany, assures his lawyer
Often presented as one of the “caids” of the Pontanezen district, his client is now banned from appearing in Finistère as part of his judicial review in another case. Suspected of being involved in a shooting, this 28-year-old man was remanded in custody in Rennes from September 2019 to October 2020. Since his parole, G. has left Brittany for the south of France. He only returns to Finistère in the context of court summons, assures his lawyer.
In his accusations, Me Laraba goes further. According to him, his client, his two brothers and the rest of their family are the prime targets of the Brest police. “Yes, he has a criminal record, but it is far from being the longest in Brest. These tags, I have the impression that it was to get rid of them, ”advances the council. The latter also filed a complaint for forgery and use of forgery, as part of a ticket for non-compliance with confinement drawn up while his client was in prison. In 2019, five members of the Brest BAC were sentenced by the courts for falsifying a report.
Since the circulation of the photo in the ranks of the police, an internal investigation has been opened to try to shed light on this affair. An investigation at the IGPN had been considered. According to information from 20 minutes, the “whistleblower” police officer received no support from his superiors. He would have been disarmed and changed service after the publication of the photo showing his colleague tagging a wall. “What surprises me the most in this story is that the policeman in question was denounced by another policeman. It’s rare ! But since then, nothing has happened. We seek to protect the institution, ”says the Brest lawyer.