Police violence in Carcassonne: Youssef's brother demands sanctions after viral footage
The brother of Youssef, 29, who was slammed to the ground by a police officer during the Music Festival in Carcassonne, testifies. An IGPN investigation has been opened.
Youssef's brother breaks silence after Carcassonne footage
Hamza, brother of Youssef, 29, gave testimony to ladepeche.fr following the viral distribution of images showing his brother violently slammed to the ground by a police officer during the Music Festival in Carcassonne, in the Aude department. "It is extremely shocking for our family," he states. An investigation by the IGPN has been opened following the distribution of these images.
Hamza says he discovered the videos on social media between Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, at the same time as the general public. The family, comprising seven siblings, is "in shock". A few days after the incident, during a family meal on 21 June 2026, Youssef had mentioned the incident, but played down the events so as not to worry his relatives. "He said he had been shoved by a police officer," Hamza reports.
The sequence of events according to the family
According to Hamza, the incident took place around 19:30, when his brother and friends were at a private residence with a music speaker. National police officers intervened due to noise disturbance. Youssef, who weighed approximately 50 kg and was intoxicated that day, asked a police officer if he could retrieve his mobile telephone connected to the speaker. According to Hamza, the officer agreed.
"He steps forward, with no aggressive demeanour but with a somewhat swaying gait. A police officer moves towards him and throws himself on my brother to slam him violently to the ground, without any reason," Hamza recounts. Police unions argue that Youssef had been violent before the filmed sequence, which the family disputes. "My brother was not a violent person," Hamza affirms.
Youssef's partner was screaming at the time of the incident, and he had calmed her down after being subjected to violence himself, his brother further notes. Hamza has since filed a complaint at Carcassonne police station.
Death with no established link to the incident
Youssef died a few weeks after the incident, during a fishing trip at a campsite. "The next day, he did not wake up," Hamza states. The Carcassonne public prosecutor's office clarified that no link is established between this death and the slam. An autopsy concluded cardiac arrest from an undetermined cause.
Hamza wishes to correct several misconceptions about his brother. "My brother was not a drug addict, nor homeless." His parents live in a village near Carcassonne, where he had his room. He was officially registered as residing with his sister in the city and lived "somewhat on the margins" whilst maintaining family ties. He had addressed an addiction to alcohol.
A demand for sanction, not imprisonment
On the legal front, the family is not calling for the police officer in question to be imprisoned. "We hope that this national police officer is sanctioned for this violence and that it serves as a lesson so that this does not happen again," Hamza says. He adds: "This will not bring our brother back to life. And it may deprive children of seeing their father. Justice will do its work."
The investigation by the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) is ongoing. The family awaits its conclusions and demands that such acts cease, regardless of the judicial outcome.
Source: Google News LU FR