An investigation was opened in Guadeloupe to determine whether the use of the baton by a gendarme was "justified". It concerns an arrest Wednesday, in Terre-de-Haut, in Les Saintes, as part of a control for not wearing a mask.
If it appears at the end of this investigation, opened on Friday, that an offense could have been committed, the prosecutor's office of Basse-Terre will initiate "legal proceedings" against this gendarme, indicates the vice-prosecutor of the Republic of Basse -Earth, Emmanuel Delorme.
Two gendarmes proceeded, Wednesday at the end of the morning, to a control of the wearing of the mask in the village of the island, where to circulate masked is obligatory since August 15. At the order to put on a mask, a young man "refused to comply, while making outrageous remarks to them", reported the deputy prosecutor. The gendarmes then wanted to arrest him. The La1ere channel reports that the defendant seemed to be already under control by one of the two soldiers when the other hit him with a baton.
“The person concerned resisted and uttered insults, thus committing the offenses of rebellion and contempt, without however committing violence against the gendarmes. One of the gendarmes used his telescopic baton and struck the young man several times, ”continues the vice-prosecutor.
Pattern no mask? 😡 Terre de Haut in Guadeloupe # COVID19 #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/R6KX9ZQYR9
- Gérald DELISCAR-J (@GDELISCAR) August 26, 2020Taken into custody, the man arrested was released the same day, while a demonstration of support in front of the gendarmerie gates brought together "a hundred people", according to the mayor of Terre-De-Haut , Hilaire Brudey, on local television Canal 10.
Newsletter - Most of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to enable you to receive our news and commercial offers. Learn more
The arrest was filmed and the video shared more than 3,000 times on social networks. The young man lodged a complaint for "willful violence by persons holding public authority with total incapacity for work not exceeding 8 days".
