The Paris judicial tribunal.

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GERARD JULIEN / AFP

The police officer who denounced the racism and mistreatment of some of his colleagues towards detainees at the Paris court depot received a "warning" for having delayed making a report to his superiors, his lawyer announced on Tuesday.

“We punish those who reveal racism.

We are going to lodge an appeal against this warning with the administrative court, ”reacted Amar Benmohamed's lawyer, Arié Alimi, denouncing“ a desire to prevent the fight against racism in the police ”.

A late report according to his hierarchy

The warning, the lowest sanction provided for in the disciplinary proceedings, was notified to the agent on Monday, according to a document viewed by AFP and online media Streetpress.

Brigadier-chief Amar Benmohamed, stationed at the depot of the Paris court, had denounced in July 2020 to Streetpress insults, racist remarks or mistreatment by some of his fellow police officers towards detainees.

Behaviors that he had also reported to his hierarchy, in particular in a report in March 2019.

After the police officer's revelations, the Paris prosecutor's office had opened an investigation for "willful violence by persons holding public authority" and "public insults".

In the notification of the warning, he is accused of having "breached the duty of obedience by non-execution of an order", in particular "by refraining from immediately complying with the instructions of his superiors" who had asked him a report on the behavior denounced.

The policeman did not give names

He is also accused of not having mentioned in the report the names of the people "who had denounced the questionable behavior to him".

But Amar Benmohamed assures on the contrary that he wrote the report the day his hierarchy asked him to do so, after talking about it orally with her.

As for the identities of his colleagues, he assures that he did not want to mention them in order to "protect" them and "avoid pressure" against them, and to be ready to communicate them within the framework of a judicial investigation.

Heard before the National Assembly Law Commission in July 2020, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin assured that administrative sanctions, reprimands and warnings, were in progress for five officials, after an administrative investigation by the General Inspectorate of the national police (IGPN).

A disciplinary council was also to be held in September for one of the officials.

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  • Abuse

  • Paris

  • Police officer

  • IGPN

  • Court

  • Racism

  • Justice

  • Police