“Before this tragedy, there was a high-intensity intervention,” explains the national delegate of the SGP Unit police union

The individual who injured police officers in the 13th arrondissement police station in Paris first grabbed an officer’s weapon, while he was blowing into a breathalyzer. “An investigation is underway (…) to determine what happened on site”recalls Yann Bastière, national delegate of the SGP Unit police union. “But when you come across an individual determined to ‘kill cop’you see how far it can go”he adds.

Usually, the holster of a weapon is secure

Was there a fault with this service weapon? Normally, “the case is secured by a hoop which prevents individuals from grabbing the weapon or preventing the weapon from falling”, specifies Yann Bastière. “Before this tragedy, there was a high-intensity intervention with my colleagues from the neighborhood support group, who intervened for a person potentially in danger of death”, he continues. The weapon could then have been unlocked at that point. The suspect also tried to attack his partner’s life with a box cutter. For Yann Bastière, “the response from justice must be firm.”