Police in Nantes trained in knife attacks

2/16/2020, 6:30:06 PM

REPORTAGE - At the central police station in the city, training prepares officers to respond to stabbing attacks.

In Nantes

“Put down your knife!”, A policeman brings his armed interlocutor. The scene does not take place in a dark corner of the center of Nantes, but in the central police station of the city, which employs 1000 officials. This is training to best prepare officers to respond to stabbing attacks. On the tatami mat in the training room, Erwan D., the trainer specializing in intervention safety techniques (FTSI) faces one of his colleagues armed with an electric knife who starts to sizzle if he touches the skin. One way to realize the importance of being very responsive. “This kind of attack is extremely fast. You have to manage to gain a few seconds to be able to react, ”he explains to the trainee of the day, a logistics service agent. First advice: get as far away from the opponent as possible. "Because, within 5 meters, you are dead," he insists. And, when it comes to contact, precision of gestures is crucial.