This is a real game of Cluedo which investigators from the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) engaged in the case of police violence from the Burger King. To identify the accused police officers, they had to act in a spirit of deduction and elimination work, faced with the lack of cooperation from the police hierarchy. Fifteen days after the examination in this file of four agents, the Parisian - Today in France took note of the hearings of these officials, as well as the summary report of the IGPN retracing the painstaking work of investigation necessary to their identification.
On June 23, more than a year and a half after the start of this emblematic case of the abuses observed in the maintenance of order during the crisis of yellow vests, four police officers from the Compagnie de Républicaine de Sécurité de Chalon-sur- Saône, CRS 43, were indicted for “willful violence with incapacity for work by persons holding public authority”, including two of them for aggravated violence (in meetings and with weapons). Left free under judicial control, they are prohibited from practicing on the public highway and from holding or carrying a weapon.
"We have the impression of being judged in advance"
On December 1, 2018, during Act III of the yellow vests, fifteen CRS had violently struck several demonstrators - some of whom were lying down - and some journalists in the closed door of this Burger King in the rue de Wagram (8th) in Paris . The yellow vests had come to escape the tear gas that saturated the avenues. The scene of violence, captured by various cameras from amateurs but also from professionals, had aroused strong indignation, especially since no investigation seemed to be successful. During the preliminary investigation, none of the CRS 43 supervisory officers or officers heard had been able to recognize the faces of their men from the videos obtained. "We talked at length with the staff and graduated but according to the media pressure, there is a huge blanket on the role and responsibilities of each one because we have the impression of being judged in advance" explained Gilbert S., 55, the commander of CRS 43 during his hearing at the IGPN.
Only one brigadier-in-chief, Cyrille D., 43, was quickly identified by the police as the author of three kicks on a protester on the ground. The police lost his helmet during the intervention and is wearing a chasuble. For the rest, the investigators worked from the company's trombinoscope, eliminating one by one the police who, by their function, could not have been involved in the fast food establishment: driver, transmitter, convenience store, multi-shot launcher, Tactical support group, cougar launcher, defense ball launcher… Then only the men of the Charlie group remain, the 1st protection and intervention section, specifically trained in the context of mass killings. After cross-checking with the video recordings and the operational data, a list of thirteen, then four names, is drawn up.
"Why didn't you come forward? "
The hierarchy must then respond. "Why didn't you come forward at the start of the investigation to give your testimony? Asks the IGPN investigator to the group leader of the company, Dominique C., 56 years old. Response from the functional commander: "I did not find it useful, I knew that if there was a need they would summon me, it never happened that someone showed up on his own initiative to be heard". The officer continued: "For my part, I have nothing to hide, depending on the elements that are gathered in the investigation, I am able to provide elements of an answer or not".
Besides the brigadier-chief, Cyrille D., already confused by the loss of his helmet, the IGPN identifies Major Raphaël A., 47 years old. Head of the 1st section, he is suspected of having carried out fourteen baton blows on four different victims including a protester wearing a red Christmas cap who was about to leave the Burger King. Alongside their leader, the investigators recognized Brigadier Olivier P., the alleged perpetrator of about 23 batons and one kick on seven different people. Including on Nathan A., the young yellow vest that we see being beaten up for a long time under the counter on amateur videos. Finally, a last police officer, peacekeeper Jérémie C., the only one present on the floor of the Burger King, was pinned for five baton blows and a kick on a protester. The other CRS present in the Burger, some of whom committed violence, were not identified.
CRS involved evoke insurgent climate
The four police officers already indicted are all highly rated, decorated and congratulated on several occasions for some and have the confidence of their hierarchy. Apart from the section chief already heard at the IGPN in Lille in October 2015 for aggravated and ultimately unacknowledged acts of violence on a migrant and the brigadier-in-chief who received a warning, these officials never did before subject to administrative sanction or investigation. In their defense, all evoke an insurrectionary and urban guerrilla climate. That day, 1,700 tear gas grenades were launched by the CRS 43 and 27 of the 63 police officers deployed were bruised. "My unit intervened in a context of unprecedented chaos, for more than 13 hours without interruption to acts of extreme violence, to attacks coordinated by radicalized adversaries" explains Gilbert C., the commander of CRS 43. He adds: "In a normalized situation our personnel would not have intervened in this way, they would not have been in a state of exhaustion".
The four accused police officers mentioned fatigue but also fear. "" I thought I was not going to see my children again "confides the brigadier Olivier P. And his chief Raphaël A to specify:" the intervention of the Burger King represented only three or 4 minutes of our day of civil war. In 23 years of career, I never had any problem with justice, I have the impression to be judged on only these 3 minutes of my career. I fought all day to defend the republic, I only did my job as best I could. Several agents sometimes recognize "a lack of lucidity". Called to view overwhelming images, Brigadier Olivier P. said: "I clearly lacked lucidity the day was rough, I am in a hurry that they are leaving, I don't want to see them anymore, these shots are not necessary according to me. "
On the other hand, several CRS advance the concept of "passive resistance", often used by activists of the ultra-left during arrests, to justify their clubbing. "We found that individuals got down on the ground, despite our orders to go out, rather than obey, they stayed put in a position on the ground, curled up on themselves, on the ground" justifies Raphaël A. According to the officer, to counter these practices, there are appropriate techniques but which require "3 officials per individual" and "crazy time". But the video surveillance images do not seem to show the demonstrators demonstrating "passive resistance", some on the contrary seek to protect themselves. Furthermore, the IGPN investigators pointed out to the suspects that only 10 seconds elapsed between the time of their orders to leave the restaurant and the start of the hitting. A delay seems too short to justify a rebellion.
Civil parties claim prosecution against hierarchy
“My clients are not a bunch of hitters, they are highly rated civil servants, insists the lawyer of the four CRS under investigation, Me Laurent-Franck Liénard. They recognize certain illegitimate blows but consider that they did what they could in the exceptional context of the time: they had received the hierarchical order to evacuate the restaurant and intervened in a state of physical and moral exhaustion , after an intense day of engagement where they did not receive the support requested. "
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The investigation continues. No officer or commissioner has so far been implicated. However, the four police officers under investigation claim to have obeyed the orders of their hierarchy to evacuate the Burger King without making an arrest. This is confirmed by the management. "We have the impression that the chiefs are hiding behind the executors," deplores Moad Nefati, lawyer for Natan A., one of the yellow vests hit. It is surprising to note that no charge has been brought against this stage. The lack of responsibility of the police even lies in the newspeak employed. The baton becomes a "flexible defense stick", we speak of blows of "eraser" to designate the tonfas. However, on the evening of the events, someone gave the instruction to “trifle” the demonstrators, without any other form of trial… This word sounds like a semantic backlash, and we must identify its authors. We will have to go further in identifying those responsible and go back up the chain of command. "
