In Béziers, many inhabitants of a popular district of the city complain about the night brigade of the municipal police. Even internally, the Monitoring and Response Group (GSI) has a sulphurous reputation. On condition of anonymity, a Bitterro municipal police officer claims that “there is racism“, without reaction from the hierarchy:”They let it happen. Certain words do not bother them more than that.“Their interventions are daily. This excerpt returns to one of them, which turned into a drama a year and a half ago.
“It was known that compared to the other teams, they were people who were more in repression than in prevention, (…) people who act in a form of impunity, who are protected.
A municipal police officer from Béziersto “Further investigation”
On the evening of April 8, 2020, in full confinement, the neighborhood is deserted. According to a local resident, who testifies for the first time, “there was a guy walking down the street“, verbally insulting the police, but without real aggression according to him. Mohamed Gabsi, visible on the images of the surveillance cameras of the city at 10:13 p.m., had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and, according to his sister, his psychiatric problems had worsened.”Arrived at that level, there are police officers who grabbed him, they took him straight away, they pinned him to the ground, like that on his stomach.” A method “pretty brutal“, according to the witness.
What happened in the police car?
Other residents of the neighborhood saw and filmed part of the sequel. Their videos show Mohamed Gabsi in a panic, calling for help to his sister Houda. They also show the jolts that make the police car shake when he is thrown inside: the police have decided to take him on board after finding 2 grams of cocaine on him. Two witnesses claim to have seen him lying on his stomach in the passenger compartment, a GSI policeman kneeling on his back. At 10:18 p.m., Mohamed Gabsi let it be known that he was in distress.
Then what happened in the car? The police station is only 200 meters away, but the police will take ten minutes to reach it. Upon arrival, Mohamed is unconscious. At 10:32 p.m., on the last images captured by a surveillance camera, it was carried by the municipal police. He is probably already dead by then. The autopsy report considers an “asphyxia syndrome due to cervical compression”, but also the effect of drugs or cardiac disorders, and does not allow any conclusions to be drawn. Following this death, three municipal police officers from the GSI were indicted.
Extract from “Municipal police: the new mercenaries”, a document to see in “Further investigation” on December 2, 2021.
> Replays of France Télévisions news magazines are available on the franceinfo site and its mobile application (iOS & Android), “Magazines” section.