Yellow vests ": two police officers indicted for violence, including the dislocation of Jérôme Rodrigues

Two police officers were indicted on January 14 in the investigation into the disorientation of Jérôme Rodrigues, one of the figures of "yellow vests", and the injury of another protester in 2019, Jérôme Rodrigues announced on Wednesday. confirmed by a judicial source to AFP.

The police officer accused of having thrown the grenade, a fragment of which caused the loss of Jérôme Rodrigues's right eye during the rally on January 26, 2019 in Paris, was indicted for "willful violence resulting in mutilation or permanent disability ", aggravated.

The other police officer is being prosecuted for "aggravated willful violence" on another demonstrator, Mickaël, participating in the same rally.

The two police officers under judicial supervision

The criminal qualification retained against the first policeman is punishable by assizes.

The two officials were placed under judicial supervision by the investigating judges, in charge of investigations since February 13, 2019.

Jérôme Rodrigues, black cap and beard provided, revealed the information during a speech live on his Facebook account Wednesday, in front of 1,500 people: "I wanted to tell you, to tell all the people who have supported me for two years today: I got my eye put out by Macron's police".

Reached by AFP, his lawyer Arié Alimi declined to comment.

At the material time, the firing of a defense ball launcher (LBD) and the concomitant throwing of a de-encircling grenade had affected the group in which Jérôme Rodrigues and Mickaël were evolving, without it being immediately possible to determine which weapon had injured the two men. 

LBD debate revived

The injury of Jérôme Rodrigues, a 41-year-old former trader, fellow traveler of another figure in the protest movement Éric Drouet, had revived the controversy over the use of the LBD, a controversial weapon accused of having caused the loss of an eye in several demonstrators.

The authorities had first contested any use of such a weapon, the shots of which are now filmed, at the time of the events at Place de la Bastille.

Since the demonstrations of the "yellow vests" in the winter of 2018-2019, at least 30 demonstrators have been knocked out and five have had their hands torn off, according to a count by journalist David Dufresne.

The use of defense bullet launchers but also of certain grenades by the police was mainly questioned.

Another police officer was indicted in Rennes recently for unintentional injuries, in the investigation into the fainting of Gwendal Leroy, another "yellow vest" hit by a shard of a grenade.