Two years in prison, one of which is firm, and a permanent ban on practicing. A former head of the anti-crime brigade of Douai (North), who had voluntarily rolled over a minor in September 2021, was sentenced on Tuesday, February 8, for these facts judged “particularly serious” by justice. The one-year sentence will be adjusted, with house arrest under electronic surveillance, and accompanied by a one-year probationary sentence with the obligation to compensate the victim.
The prosecution had demanded a two-year ban on practicing but the Douai criminal court wanted to sanction “a behavior of particular gravity”, “totally incompatible with his function as a police officer”, explained the president, Karolina Siejka, during the deliberation. She pointed out “the total absence of questioning” of this 47-year-old official, who had drawn up a report “wrong” and “sought to conceal” facts.
The policeman’s lawyer, Emmanuel Riglaire, announced his intention to appeal “from today”. Evoking a “charge instruction”he estimates that “This file contains no evidence of guilt.” A policeman for 24 years and head of one of the two units of the Douai BAC, his client was described as a “hunter” by colleagues in the PVs. He had been suspended in October.
The hearing of January 18 had not made it possible to clearly establish the facts, which date back to September 12, in a district of Douai known for its drug trafficking. The victim, a 17-year-old young man, a “lookout” for traffickers, claims to have fled when he saw the BAC vehicle arrive. Following a lawsuit, the teenager suffered lesions on his legs and a broken foot, which earned him six weeks of ITT. “They ran over me”he summarized at the hearing.
In their reports, the police had assured that the young man had “jumped on the hood”, a version reiterated by the defendant at the hearing. By putting his vehicle across the teenager’s road, the policeman “wanted to block his progress”, had explained Immanuel Riglaire, evoking a “the most classic intervention technique”.
But the victim’s version, “always constant”is “confirmed by numerous testimonies” as well as elements of the file such as the medical certificate, explained the president on Tuesday. And she “comes up against the fluctuating versions of the police”.