Belfort secondary-school student files attempted murder complaint against police officer
A 17-year-old teenager, suspected of assaulting a police officer in Belfort, files a complaint for attempted drowning. His lawyer denounces "exceptional savagery".
Cross-complaint following a controversial arrest in Belfort
A 17-and-a-half-year-old secondary-school student, placed in police custody as part of the investigation into the assault on a police officer in Belfort, will file a complaint for attempted murder against the same officer, according to La Libre. His lawyer, Arié Alimi, confirmed to AFP the filing of a complaint "for attempted murder and complicity by instigation".
"My client, a minor, was the victim of an attempted drowning by a police officer", declared Me Alimi, who designates the officer as "the perpetrator of the attempt" and denounces "exceptional savagery".
The incident dates back to Friday, on the margins of a secondary-school student mobilisation. The head of the departmental intelligence service had attempted to arrest the teenager whilst the latter was near a stream close to his school. According to the defence, the young man found himself "sprawled in the water" at the moment when the officer was attempting to handcuff him. The officer was subsequently assaulted by several people. Two individuals were placed in police custody in this investigation, including the secondary-school student.
Videos of the arrest are circulating online and fuelling the controversy, with some comments accusing the officer of having pushed the young man's head under water. The footage, filmed from a distance, does not however allow for the facts to be established clearly.
The prosecutor reaffirmed on Sunday that no evidence confirms that the secondary-school student's head was submerged in the stream, which has a maximum depth of 19 centimetres. During his interviews in police custody, the suspect himself answered in the negative when investigators asked him whether he believed the officer had attempted to drown him, according to the prosecutor.
Source: La Libre