Assault on off-duty police officer in Chalon: prisoner on day release sentenced to 20 months in prison
A 32-year-old man on day release offered cannabis to a police sergeant who was exercising. The exchange turned into a physical altercation. The defendant was tried and remanded in custody.
Assault on off-duty police officer in Chalon: prisoner on day release sentenced to 20 months in prison
A police officer who was off duty was exercising on the Chabas square in Chalon-sur-Saône on Friday 3 July. A 32-year-old man approached him to sell him cannabis. The man in sports clothing, who was in fact a law enforcement officer, responded with a sarcastic remark. This triggered a violent reaction from the drug dealer.
The latter threw several punches, some of which were dodged or blocked. The police officer counter-attacked. Colleagues in uniform intervened to restrain the assailant, who attempted to flee and resisted during his arrest. He also insulted one of the officers.
The suspect already had fourteen convictions, eight of them for acts of violence. He was serving a sentence at Varennes-le-Grand prison under day release: he worked during the day and returned to his cell in the evening. That Friday, he was carrying 22 grammes of cannabis resin and had consumed alcohol, when he should have been carrying out reintegration measures.
Brought before the court in immediate appearance on Monday 6 July, he was found guilty of assault and insulting behaviour, but acquitted of the charge of resisting police. The magistrates found that keeping his hands behind his back did not constitute sufficient violence to characterise this offence. The sentence imposed was twenty months of custodial imprisonment with remand in custody.
The public prosecutor had requested two years in prison with an order for remand, citing the defendant's addictions and impulsivity. His defence counsel argued for the continuation of day release, emphasising that he was working and attempting to rebuild his life. The condemned man expressed his regrets to the officers who had been assaulted.
The two officers were admitted as civil parties and will receive compensation for the harm suffered.
Source: Info-Chalon.com
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)