“When I am sick, I go to the doctor.
He makes a diagnosis and gives me treatment to heal.
The problem with the police is that they refuse to go to the doctor ”.
This sentence is not that of an anti-cop activist.
It comes out of the mouth of Florian (the first name has been changed), 44 years old, including fifteen years in the Anti-Crime Brigade (BAC) in the Paris suburbs.
This policeman would like to speak under his real identity, but as he is a civil servant and not a union member, he has "only the right to be silent or to speak off."
He chose the last option, because the images of the arrest of Michel, a music producer, in the 17th arrondissement of Paris "are too serious and heavy with consequences".
"These guys don't understand the harm they're doing to us"
"Who is lying and who knocks, normally?"
Rogue.
And, there, they are colleagues, ”he sighs.
He is especially aware of the damage caused: "These guys do not understand the harm they do us, but once again, we are going to explain to us that it is a minority and that therefore there is no problem. for the institution.
"
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He thinks the opposite: "I don't care about the statistics, how many police officers
mess around
each year, as our minister would say.
I have been working on public roads for more than fifteen years and I have noticed the growing mistrust against us.
All this debate around the filmed interventions, the famous article 24, comes from this: mistrust.
"
“Today,” he says, “when I carry out an identity check, nine times out of ten, I am filmed by a passer-by with a smartphone.
I know the guy is waiting for things to get out of hand, it'll do something for him to put on his Twitter feed.
But that's how it is, I do with it, we do with.
I did not wait for the era of smartphones to do my job properly.
He impatiently waits for all his colleagues to carry the famous "pedestrian cameras".
"That way, we'll all film each other," he jokes.
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In his functions, Florian has known more than one strong arrest.
“The BAC is leaps and bounds, flagrante delicto.
We don't always say:
Good evening sir, would you be so kind as to slow down in order to proceed with your questioning?
But we are not here to beat up the people we question!
I always thought that a cop didn't have the right to blow his mind, to justify a gap by saying
I was pissed off
.
He can and must use violence when it is necessary, but if we behave like the people we are pursuing, how do you expect us to find our way?
"
"Cop, it's the most thankless job there is"
And on this point, Florian saw the situation crumble: “It's not a question of saying that it was better before, but we still have a problem in recruitment and training.
There are cops, after a fortnight, we know that they have no morals, that we are going to hit the wall with them.
Above all, they have no passion for their profession.
"Cop, it's the most thankless job there is: for a thank you you will have wiped fifteen you
bastard
and twenty-five
fuck your mother
, he emphasizes.
You have to be ready for that, even if it's not normal.
"
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“For years, we no longer punish contempt, the courts are congested and we know that bringing proceedings against someone who insulted us will not work.
This is a huge fault.
"For him," by letting it pass, we told the young generation of cops:
insults are not that serious, stop complaining "
.
"Once again, we created mistrust, this time between the police and the magistrates, between the base cops and the hierarchy, which crosses their fingers so that there is no wave", regrets Florian.
The hierarchy, and the Ministry of the Interior in particular, has nevertheless supported the police a lot in recent months and the famous article 24 is often perceived as a "gift" to the police unions.
Florian almost agrees: “We also had to send a strong message, especially after the movement of yellow vests.
It is true that we need protection, not to be thrown into the pasture on social networks.
Me, I did not pass a BEP éborgneur or torturer.
I'm a cop and I'm proud of it.
And because I'm proud of it, I do my job well.
"
