The mayor (LR) of Belfort, Damien Meslot, has suspended certain cooperation actions with the national police, after the police custody of two municipal police officers.
At the beginning of May, the two Belfort municipal police officers were heard in police custody by the national police in the context of an investigation into "forgery in public writing by person responsible for public authority", launched by the public prosecutor from the Republic of Belfort, Eric Plantier. They emerged free and the file was disoriented near the Besançon public prosecutor's office, which opened a judicial investigation for the same reason.
At the start, an inquiry
“During their hearings, the agents remained very laconic. I hope that they will be heard by an investigating judge, "said Besançon prosecutor Etienne Manteaux, AFP, stressing the importance of the accuracy of the minutes for a judicial investigation.
This investigation follows the arrest of a scooter driver conducted on April 17 by these two municipal agents. In their report, they said the man had made a dubious transaction before fleeing and hitting them twice when they asked him to stop, the magistrates said.
CCTV would show another version
Heard by the national police, the arrested refuted these charges. CCTV footage of the city showed "a glaring discrepancy" between the scene and the version of the two municipal police officers, according to Mr. Plantier.
On these images, "we do not see any crime committed by the driver of the scooter", but "we see that a municipal officer hits the scooter with his bike and goes into contact with the driver," noted Mr. Manteaux .
“Disproportionate” police custody for the mayor
In a letter addressed to the departmental director of public security (DDSP) of Belfort, which AFP was able to consult on Thursday, Mr. Meslot announces his decision to suspend "for an indefinite period" the operational cooperation actions between the municipal police and the national police such as "coordinated public security operations, joint patrols or even the reinforcement provided by municipal police" on certain operations of the national police.
“The police custody of the two municipal police officers is disproportionate. This is something extremely rare for facts that are anecdote, “said AFP Damien Meslot (LR).
On Twitter, the 2020 joint opposition list in Belfort, supported by EELV and LFI, denounced a decision "of exceptional gravity".
🔴 Press release following D. Meslot's decision to suspend cooperation between the national and municipal police. pic.twitter.com/190lUAZala
- 2020 in common in Belfort (@ 2020enCommun) May 14, 2020News
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