Blunder with racist and homophobic insults or flawless intervention? This will be determined by the IGPN, which was to be seized by the Créteil prosecution after four complaints, notably for "willful violence", "arbitrary detention", and "racial and homophobic insults".
The complainants are the families of four teenagers, aged 14 to 15, arrested and taken into police custody on May 26 before being released. Police and parents tell, and their versions are opposed.
On Tuesday, four officers from the Kremlin-Bicêtre anti-crime brigade patrol in cars. Their objective: to arrest in the act the perpetrators of the snatching of gold necklaces. A wound in Villejuif and its surroundings. "We shoot an average of one victim a day at the moment," said an official.
"Four children without a story happy to be reunited"
That afternoon, a man just had his chain torn off. The "bacqueux" spot a group of young people in Vitry-sur-Seine whose behavior seems suspicious. "The guys were hanging out, they were going to the Franprix, having fun with the street furniture, and watching the passers-by," assures a police officer. At one point, they exchanged clothes. In short, we suspected them. "
Mohand Bakir, the father of one of the teenagers, tells him about "four children without a story happy to find themselves after a difficult episode of confinement. "
The fact remains that surveillance lasts long enough. Until the police believe they are recognized by those they observe. Forgotten the flagrante delicto, there is more than to control the group rue Claude-Debussy. "Like 90% of our interventions, it goes well on both sides," assures a police officer. Kids aren't a problem. One tries to be clever but honestly we sometimes get a lot worse. On our side, not an insult, nothing. "
"Photos are taken, there are mockeries, racist remarks on the part of certain officials, says on the contrary Mohand Bakir according to what his son reports to him. And the children are handcuffed. They are even subjected to the test of sitting up and getting up without help… ”
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Nobody is handcuffed until the end of the check, we defend ourselves at the police station. "Checks have been made, it takes time. We could have taken them to the station but it was cooler for everyone to do that here. The arrest is decided when three suspects are recognized by the victim.
An alleged slap in the car
As there is not enough room in the car, a police rescue team is called. "We handcuffed the kids just before bringing them up as required by the procedure," said a police source. One climbs with the "bacqueux", the other three in the vehicle that has just arrived.
"A municipal police car," swear the teens. Questioned this Thursday evening by "Le Parisien", the town halls of Vitry, Villejuif and Le Kremlin-Bicêtre deny any involvement of their services. "No municipal police intervened," confirms a national police officer.
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Still, "everyone goes to the Kremlin-Bicêtre police station," says Mohand Bakir. “And there arises an incongruous situation: one of the children lacks space in the back. He has a discrepancy in language that an official corrects with a violent slap. "
The investigation service then takes over from the anti-crime brigade. Three of the teenagers are placed in police custody. "We parents get a call," said the father. We are told: Your child is at the police station, he is fine, he has a lawyer, do not come. "
Young people exonerated in police custody
The police then analyze the telephony. Cell phones do not limit themselves to the relay closest to the attack. A good excuse for suspects. And above all, the victim no longer recognizes anyone. In short, the charges collapse. "It is also used for that custody," insists an investigator.
On the family side, it is estimated that the rights of the defense have been violated. “No one asked us if we wanted to choose a lawyer other than the court clerk (s). And to this day, we still do not know who accompanied our children that evening. "
Me Jérôme Kersanti also counts "almost 27 hours of arrest against 24 hours maximum for minors". "How is it that they were identified when the victim gives the height of 1.60 m? They are all over 6 feet tall! He wonders again.
"They ate pasta at 9 p.m. but didn't have a glass of water all this time," says an upset mother, Helena. And no barrier gesture was observed while our children were masked. "
"Everything was done according to the rules," assures the police. It is moreover a police custody involving minors and therefore as such particularly supervised. "
Four days after the facts, the Kremlin-Bicêtre anti-crime squad patrols the Emile-Zola park, between Villejuif and Vitry. "Young people were degrading benches where boards had been placed for social distancing," describes a police source. We do our work, we control with the support of the municipal police of Villejuif. "
One of the middle school students recognizes one of the police officers. He lowers his mask and tells him that he has filed a complaint against him and his colleagues. "What do you want this to do to us?" We had nothing to blame, hammered an agent. Again, it was pretty relaxed. "
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The policeman takes his cell phone from him. Without unlocking, he can get the serial number. “We don't care what’s in there but we do concealment like that. Clearly, we just want to know if the phone was stolen. The boy took the colleague's arm to prevent him from doing so. Some colleagues may question this. There, the brigadier just took him by the collar to dissuade him. "
Mohand Bakir does not mention any physical contact. But rather a "very ambiguous situation" this Saturday: "You have a child surrounded by police who isolate him, the scene is filmed. And there will still be condemnable words… ”
It is now certain: the laptop is not stolen. The police stopped there, not without asking the young people to pick up the rubbish they had left on the ground. "The only one who hasn't picked up his can is the same kid," sighs an official. But the intervention remains there. Well almost…
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