It became “the Théo affair”. On February 2, 2017, Théodore Luhaka, a young black man aged 22, was seriously injured in the rectum by a police officer’s telescopic baton, during an arrest in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis). Three days later, four police officers were indicted for intentional violence and one of them was also indicted for rape. The affair, which highlighted police violence, triggered demonstrations and urban violence. François Hollande, President of the Republic at the time of the events, went to the bedside of the young man, who suffered irreversible after-effects.
Nearly seven years later, three police officers were finally tried before the Seine-Saint-Denis assizes for willful violence, with several aggravating circumstances, from Tuesday January 9 and until Friday 19. The qualification of rape was not on the other hand was not accepted, but one of them was fired for having “resulted in permanent disability”. The fourth benefited from a dismissal of the case. Franceinfo takes stock of this affair in seven questions.
1 What do we know about the arrest of Théodore Luhaka?
At the hearing, the course of events will be dissected again. It all started at the end of the afternoon, on February 2, 2017, in a street in the city of 3,000, in Aulnay-sous-Bois. A crew from the Specialized Field Brigades (BST), made up of four police officers, carries out identity checks on a group of young men, at a location reputed to be a drug sales point. According to the arrest report, one of them refuses and shows himself “arrogant”. Still according to this source, a second man intervenes. This is Théodore Luhaka, a 22-year-old resident of the neighborhood, whom everyone calls Théo.
If the beginning of the scene takes place behind a wall, without video surveillance, the rest is recorded. According to the timestamp of municipal cameras, the arrest lasted eight minutes, between 4:46 p.m. and 4:54 p.m. The images, revealed in part by Europe 1 in January 2018, are described in the indictment order for the three officials, to which franceinfo had access. They show a “grapple” between the group of young men and the police officers. They also allow the investigating judge to establish that at 4:46 p.m., “Théodore Luhaka’s pants had fallen to the bottom of his buttocks, revealing his boxers”.
A minute later, Théo Luhaka fell on a police officer, Jérémie D. Tear gas was fired. Behind the young man, a second police officer, Tony H., tries to grab his arms to handcuff him. While Théo Luhaka managed to get up, a third official, Marc-Antoine C., struck him several times on the back with a telescopic defense stick. When he directs it towards his buttocks, Théo Luhaka turns around. He receives a slap from Tony H., who tries to hold him down. Then the young man collapses. Handcuffed, he is thrown against the wall by Jérémie D. He is then moved out of the cameras’ field of view. His transport, three minutes later, to the police vehicle is filmed.
The police claim to have noticed that Théo Luhaka “bleed from the buttocks” upon their arrival at the Aulnay-sous-Bois police station, where he was placed in police custody. Victim of discomfort, the young man underwent emergency surgery. His examination concluded that he had a rectal perforation. The same evening, heard from the hospital, the young man declared that the police officers hit him and that one of them pulled down his pants before inserting his baton.
2 Why was the qualification of rape abandoned?
Three days after the events, the four police officers were indicted for intentional violence resulting in an ITT of more than eight days. Marc-Antoine C., suspected of having delivered the baton blow that injured Théo, is also indicted for rape. But at the end of the investigations, this qualification was not retained. The blow is “well worn voluntarily”but neither the material element nor the moral element, which characterizes rape in criminal law, have been established, according to the investigating judge. “No comments with a sexual connotation were made by the arresting police officers, which Théodore Luhaka himself confirmed,” points out the magistrate.
3 What are the accusations against the three police officers on trial?
If the magistrate lists nine exculpatory elements, three others “advocate for a disproportionate use of violence” on the part of Marc-Antoine C. He is therefore dismissed for “intentional violence by a person holding public authority resulting in permanent disability”. He is also on trial for “intentional violence resulting in an ITT of more than eight days by persons holding public authority, with weapons and in meetings”, like Tony H. and Jérémie D.
“Since the civil party was on the ground and immobile, the acts of violence were necessarily disproportionate”underlines the investigating judge. “At that moment, no one appreciates the seriousness of Théo Luhaka’s injuries”retorts Daniel Merchat, who represents Jérémie D. “My client has always admitted the facts: he slapped him. He regrets it, he has apologized. He is not going to say anything else at the trial”adds the lawyer to franceinfo.
Another question will animate the debates: the “thrusting gesture” carried by Marc-Antoine C. with his telescopic baton, was it legitimate? This technique aims to cause pain in a lower limb, in order to bring to the ground an individual who opposes his arrest. “The crime attributed to my client is a technical gesture of regulatory intervention: it is an act of voluntary but legitimate violence and consistent with what is taught in police schools”estimates the lawyer of Marc-Antoine C., who intends to plead for the acquittal of his client. “His one and only objective was to hit Théo Luhaka in the hamstring muscle, to make him fall and control him. The injuries caused were unintentional”assures Louis Cailliez.
4 Why did the fourth police officer benefit from a dismissal of the charges?
The investigation shows that the fourth police officer “kicked two or three times” to Théo Luhaka, because this one “grabbed his wrists at the start of the arrest, in order to free himself”. That “does not constitute illegitimate violence”, concludes the investigating judge. This police officer then made sure to “securing the premises” and was no longer in contact with the young man. No charges were therefore brought against him and he benefited from a dismissal of the case. He will still be heard at the trial as a witness.
5 What is Théo Luhaka’s version?
Théo Luhaka was interviewed by the investigating judge one month after the events. The young man then declared “no longer have any precise memories”, but admitted “that the fall of his pants was not a voluntary act of the police”. He specifies “that he was not in a condition to do the very first hearing at the hospital”. He also claims to have been beaten and subjected to racist insults during his transport to the police station. Remarks maintained during a confrontation with two police officers, on February 21, 2018, but which the officials deny.
“It’s not just a baton blow that was given. It’s a series of at least four scenes of violence”tells franceinfo Antoine Vey, who represents Théo Luhaka. “In particular the fact of leaving in a police car, then at the police station, someone losing blood. We see on the videos the police slapping Théo who is handcuffed”develops the lawyer. “They came to intimidate, but it went wrong, to the detriment of Théo”he maintains.
6 What are the after-effects for the young man?
To assess the consequences on Théo Luhaka’s health, the investigating judge ordered five medical assessments. In June 2020, a proctologist concluded that his situation had improved, but estimated “likely” that he “suffers permanent after-effects”. The seriousness of the damage suffered will also be at the heart of the debates. Seven experts are cited during the trial and their hearings will be supplemented by the results of another expertise carried out in 2023. “They confirm the seriousness of the damage inflicted”says Antoine Vey.
Théo Luhaka’s lawyer believes that “these medical assessments must be read in the light of psychological assessments”, to which the young man was subjected. The first, carried out by a clinical psychologist in 2018, did not relate to “psychotraumatic impact”. However, the second, which dates from July 2020, notes “a disturbing depressive presence”with “a feeling of shame, fatalism and a feeling of abandonment”. “He feels like someone who has been raped, with the same psychological damage, in addition to the permanent physical damage that affects his privacy and his virilitysummarizes his lawyer. It’s a turning point from which he has not recovered, for the moment.”
7 Are the police officers on trial still practicing?
The police officers were prohibited from exercising police activity and any profession related to security when they were indicted on February 5, 2017. However, part of their judicial control was lifted. Now aged 31, Tony H. was able, in August 2017, to rejoin the reception service of a police station. Jérémie D., 43, was suspended for two years. He then moved to the Southwest, where he was able to resume his career, according to his lawyer.
The main accused, Marc-Antoine C., 34 years old, performs a function of “administrative support” at the Ministry of the Interior since September 2019, explains his lawyer. Seine-Saint-Denis was the first assignment of this young police officer, who was 27 years old at the time of the events. If he does not want his name to appear, it is because he is the subject of threats on social networks. “This is the test of his life. He has been waiting for this trial for seven years, explains his lawyer, Louis Cailliez. Some immediately cried rape and that is the misconception that remained. He is traumatized by this terrible accusation relayed at the start of the investigation.”
Marc-Antoine C. and Jérémie D. were also the subject of an administrative investigation. Entrusted to the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN), it concluded that “the existence of breaches” and ordered the referral of the police officers to a disciplinary council. The proposed reprimand never came to fruition. In fact, in this type of case, the administrative sanction is often taken once the criminal decision is known. The police officers risk seven years in prison for intentional violence with aggravating circumstances. Marc-Antoine C., author of the baton attack, faces up to fifteen years of criminal imprisonment.