Reims: three men sentenced for assault on seven police officers
The Reims magistrates' court has sentenced three men to two or three years in prison for assaulting seven plainclothes police officers in September 2025. The court did not uphold the aggravating factor relating to the victims' status as police officers.
Three years in prison for the main perpetrator
According to Actu17, the Reims magistrates' court heard three men on Tuesday for the assault on seven plainclothes police officers that occurred during the night of 13 to 14 September 2025, near the central police station. Ismaila was sentenced to three years in prison, whilst his brother Yssouf and Billaile each received two years in prison.
The three men were also ordered to leave the Marne and received a five-year ban from public office. The court reclassified the facts as violence committed in a group with use of weapons, but did not uphold the aggravating circumstance relating to the victims' status as police officers.
Two successive attacks during the night
The police officers were celebrating a colleague's departure when the first violence broke out around 23:30. Four of them were first set upon by a group of eight men. An hour and a half later, other police officers suffered a second attack. All seven victims were injured during these incidents.
Partial admission and denials
At the hearing, Billaile, 26, admitted to being the instigator of the violence. When questioned on the number of blows struck, he said while pointing at the police officers: "I knocked him out, I knocked him out too. And that's it." He claimed to have felt "threatened" after he was told "Clear off!" when he asked for a cigarette, and added: "I regret what I did."
The two brothers deny striking any blows. Yssouf declared: "I didn't hit anyone. Look at the videos, it wasn't me!" The public prosecution however maintains it identified Ismaila based on his clothing in CCTV footage.
Identification disputed by the defence
The question of the identification of the two brothers dominated the proceedings. Deputy public prosecutor Floriane Tappon argued that the two brothers and the police officers knew each other, that victims were recognised on the spot and that Ismaila would have identified one of the officers from behind in a video. The defence rejected this thesis. Ismaila's lawyer, Me Lucie Laruppe, requested his acquittal, arguing that "one cannot imagine that they are police officers, even less so when they are holding a bottle of alcohol in their hand". Me Nicolas Brazy, Yssouf's defence counsel, criticised the decision to entrust the investigation to Reims police when it involved officers from the city.
Persistent trauma
Several police officers still suffer from hypervigilance and post-traumatic symptoms. The brigade commander told the court: "Even today, I cannot position myself as a victim."
Source: Actu17