A brother and sister appeared this Friday morning before the Béziers criminal court after the violence committed this Tuesday, February 1 at the end of the afternoon in the district of La Devèze. A policeman from the Béziers police station received a punch in the face by this completely hysterical 21-year-old woman.
The civil servants intervened in this popular district as they do regularly within the framework of the fight against drug trafficking. The local security group had just arrested his 30-year-old brother. This interim delivery man had fled in his uninsured vehicle.
“A fly, I won’t hit it. I’m not like that in life.”
At the helm, this cashier, with an angelic face, a bit shy, apologize for the blow, but refutes the alleged contempt. His behavior at the bar is far from his attitude described by the police on the day of his arrest.
”You are not at home here. I’ll kill you sons of bitches.”
One and the other, unknown to justice for acts of violence, do not explain their behavior that day. He is being prosecuted for rebellion, riot, carrying a weapon (a telescopic baton was found on the front seat), use of cannabis here, driving without insurance and illegal use of a toll badge related to theft.
His arrest had been eventful this Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. near the church square. About forty young people from the city had come to his rescue after he had screamed for help to come free him. Earlier, he had fled in his car without insurance trying to run over police officers on foot, before being stopped by another police car
The defendant takes responsibility
“I really regret what I did. I don’t know why I succeeded like this. I had taken narcotics that day. I had already been sentenced. I was afraid of being punished again. My sister lost her temper, it’s because of me, we really blame each other.”
“It is not a small altercation deplores the president of the court of Béziers. A group of young people came to help you. You exerted pressure on the police officers. Why did not you accept the control?
“I do not know what happend to me” adds his sister. “I got carried away. I was preparing to eat and I saw that it was my brother who was being arrested. not violent in life. I wouldn’t hurt a fly. To see my brother in this state, it pissed me off. I am very sorry. I had a moment of panic.”
“And you wanted to calm things down by punching the policeman,” adds the president. “You arrive like a fury and the first thing you do is give that punch? Why did you try to run away in handcuffs? Your behavior is disproportionate.”
The young woman has no words and lowers her head. “I’m sorry I got carried away.” His brother refutes the riot, despite the testimony of five police officers.
Their behavior is denounced by the lawyer for the civil party. “The intervention of the police was difficult in the neighborhood, in a context of riot. The facts are serious. The defendant demonstrated extreme violence.”
The latter lowers her eyes and listens attentively
“All you did when you arrived was go up to a policeman, punch him. You have to stop with these lawless zones. The police are not there to suffer wanton violence. It’s not acceptable“adds Mélanie Amoros.
The defendants, side by side, then listen to the public prosecutor. “The call to riot is characterized. To be a police officer is not to be insulted, threatened or pushed around. The Béziers prosecution claims 10 months in prison against the brother, including six months suspended and eight months suspended against his sister.“
The lawyers for the two defendants, for their part, minimize the facts and say they are surprised at the handling of this case.
“The day before this hearing, the public prosecutor requested a CRPC against my client” deplores Montpellier lawyer Christian Dumon. “She had accepted the six-month suspended prison sentence, but in the end the JLD refused this proposal, sending the treatment of this case back to a public hearing this Friday morning.
“I do not understand why the CRPC was not retained. Even less why the prosecution is asking the court for a harsher sentence” – Christian Dumon
“We must not confuse the attack on the same day in Montpellier. A policeman was seriously injured in the leg. In Béziers, the policeman has zero days of ITT.”
His colleague from Biterrois Rachid Lemoudaa also plays down. “My client is not a thug. His criminal record is clean. His only conviction is that related to his consumption of narcotics, 10 years ago. Nothing since. Today, he’s a well-connected person.”
“I made a mistake, concludes the defendant in tears. I spent two nights in police custody, one night in Perpignan prison, it’s not my place.”
The court of Béziers recognizes both of them responsible for the facts and confirms the penalties claimed by the public prosecutor. 10 months in prison including six months suspended against the brother with a ban on frequenting the district of La Devèze, an obligation to care (addiction to narcotics), to work and to compensate the victims and a ban on carrying a weapon for five years.
His sister, relieved at the statement of the judgment, is sentenced to eight months in prison suspended and will have to pay 450 euros in compensation to the injured policeman.
Both must jointly pay 250 euros in damages to the other police officers for contempt.