An eighth CRS was indicted in September in Paris for "
voluntary violence
" on "
yellow vests
" in a Burger King on December 1, 2018, an emblematic episode of their first demonstrations, AFP learned Thursday January 6 from source close to the file.
Jérôme P., aged 46 at the time of the events and police captain at the Republican Security Company 43 (CRS 43), based in Chalon-sur-Saône, was indicted for "
willful violence by a person responsible for the 'public authority
' and placed under judicial control.
To read also 1500 euros fine for a police officer tried for a shot of LBD on a "yellow vest"
December 1, 2018 was one of the most eventful demonstrations of “
yellow vests
” in Paris with images of chaos including the sacking of the Arc de Triomphe. In his interrogation, of which AFP has obtained elements, Jérôme P. describes an interminable day, started at 5.30 am and ended at 1.30 am the next day, with his troops who became "
zombies
" through fatigue and "
outburst of violence
" : "
We were retreating because we were going to be killed
".
Higher ranking inside the Burger King, this police captain had already been questioned in April 2019 but then said he was unable to recognize anyone on the videos of the events. Identified since, he assumed in front of the judge to have given at least eight blows of tonfa and one kick to a demonstrator. “
Cold, I admit, we should never have acted like that
,” says Jérôme P., adding that in view of the images, the demonstrators were “
absolutely not hostile
”. He calls into question his hierarchy on several occasions, pointing to "
a strategic mismanagement of public order that day
" and assenting: "
We should at one point have refused the orders
".
Read also Violence in a Burger King in 2018: three CRS in custody
In this case, seven CRS were indicted in June 2020 and May 2021. In an investigation report of June 2020, the IGPN estimated that the demonstrators “
had taken refuge inside the establishment because of the massive presence of tear gas on the avenue
”.
The investigation ruled out any looting.
"
Of all the blows of batons or kicks, none seemed justified, necessary or proportionate
", slice the police.
"
The indictment is not proof of guilt, it is the beginning of a procedure which is ongoing
", reacted the lawyer of this CRS, Me Laurent-Franck Liénard.
