Belfort: two secondary-school pupils prosecuted for assault on police officer
Two minors aged 15 and 17 were questioned for aggravated violence following the beating of a police officer during secondary-school demonstrations in Belfort on 2 October. The older of the two filed a complaint alleging attempted murder against the police officer.
Assault during school blockade
Two secondary-school pupils aged 15 and 17 are being prosecuted for aggravated violence after beating a police officer on Friday 2 October in Belfort, according to centrepresseaveyron.fr. The adolescents have been referred for examination with a view to being formally charged following clashes that took place around Courbet secondary school on the fringes of the secondary-school blockade movement.
The investigation initially focused on attempted murder, but the public prosecutor changed the charge due to lack of "conclusive evidence" of intent to kill. The two minors attend Courbet secondary school. One is in first-year upper secondary and aged 15; the other, a Bulgarian national, will turn 18 at the end of the month. Both have no criminal record.
The police officer, head of departmental intelligence, was beaten to the ground after attempting to arrest the 17-year-old pupil, whom he had identified as participating in the throwing of projectiles and burning of bins. Videos online show the plain-clothes officer thrown to the ground, struck by a person dressed in black who delivers several punches to his face. At least two other people kick him.
The suspect admitted to delivering "two kicks to the head" and "expressed significant regret" according to prosecutor Paul-Édouard Lallois. The assault occurred Friday morning, when approximately 200 young people were gathered around the school, with around fifty engaging in violence according to authorities.
Counter-complaint for attempted murder
The 17-year-old pupil filed a complaint for attempted murder against the police officer. His lawyer, Arié Alimi, accuses the officer of having attempted to drown the young man during the arrest attempt near a stream. Videos circulated online show the officer and the young man emerging from the water, the sequence partially obscured by vegetation. The images do not allow confirmation or denial of whether the pupil's head was submerged.
The prosecutor stated that during his police custody, the suspect answered in the negative when asked whether he believed the officer had attempted to drown him. This point is contested by Maître Alimi. The immobilisation of the young man took place before the assault by several pupils.
Context of escalation of the movement
The assault provoked a strong reaction from Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who denounced images that were "unbearable" and "of rare violence". His comment comes in a context of escalation of the secondary-school blockade movement. The arrest attempt and the circumstances of the beating remain at the centre of debate, with images circulating widely on social media fuelling divergent interpretations of events.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)