A police officer was sentenced on January 31 by the Montpellier judicial court to a fine of €1,000 and €3,000 in legal fees for knocking down a pedestrian during a music festival evening. , in 2019.
The police denied “any collision” during the court hearing on January 17. The police officer concerned was not present at the Montpellier judicial court to hear his judgment on January 31.
He was sentenced to a €1,000 fine and €3,000 in legal fees for knocking down a pedestrian during a music festival evening on June 22, 2019.
Also read: “I felt contempt after my accident”: a police officer tried for knocking down a pedestrian during a music festival evening
Three vehicles passed that evening on rue de l’Université, in Montpellier, while they were on their way to intervene in a brawl. A concert is taking place there at that time. The police spoke during the hearing of a crowd moving aside to let the first two cars pass in this narrow street. The people who testified at the bar mentioned a third vehicle which “suddenly accelerated”, and allegedly had excessive speed. Still according to witnesses, around ten people fell to the ground.
The police officer’s lawyer, Maître Catherine Szwarc, says she is appealing this decision. “There is a judicial truth, but we can contest it. We have not been able to access the camera images, a material element is being taken away from us, and we have to make do with testimonies,” she specifies. The surveillance camera images were in fact deleted after the regulatory fifteen days because “no requisition was made in writing, as required by procedure” explained the director of the public security center of Montpellier during the hearing. Maître Catherine Szwarc defends the fact that her client did not “hit person”. Concerning her absence this January 31, she explains that it is “still in office” et “had a sick child”.
Concerning the recognition of an injured person following this evening, she replied: “You can get injured in different ways. There are injuries every day”. The person concerned, named Julien, was prescribed sixty days of temporary incapacity for work.
“I am relieved by this decision of the judge, which partly reassures me […] The police officers’ version is not true, and the truth was found, indicates the latter. I was very surprised. What happened shocked me deeply, I found the attitude of the municipal police difficult to accept. The conviction was above all symbolic so that there would be recognition of the facts.”.
The prosecutor had requested a fine of €500. The city of Montpellier’s insurance has already paid €17,000 in compensation. The victim, for her part, requested reimbursement of her legal fees.
2024-01-31 22:01:44
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