TESTIMONY
Their responsiveness made it possible to avoid “a dramatic end”. As reported by Europe 1 on Saturday, on the night of Thursday to Friday, four police officers plunged into the Seine in Alfortville, in Val-de-Marne, to catch up with a 17-year-old teenager who had tried to escape the forces of the order after stealing a motorcycle. At the microphone of Europe 1, one of the protagonists, Matthieu, chief brigade of the anti-crime brigade (BAC), reviews the course of events.
The incident took place around two in the morning, when the police surprised two young people pushing a motorcycle. At the sight of the police, they flee, one of them jumping into the Seine at the level of the Ivry bridge. “He continued on his way to try to cross the Seine but it was impossible”, says Matthieu, “I saw him sinking, suddenly, I jumped right next to him”.
“You are not going to die”
Struggling in the water, the 17-year-old “kept repeating: ‘I’m going to die'”, still remembers the policeman, who says he kept the teenager out of the water by grabbing the handle of his backpack. “I told him, ‘You’re not going to die! Lift your head and breathe. ‘”
Matthieu is then helped by his colleagues, whose “professionalism” he praises. “They managed to find a long chain to throw it at me, and I was able to hold on. It kept him out of the water until the colleagues could take us out.”
“Fortunately, it ends well”
The day after the events, Matthieu admits having experienced “apprehension” when jumping into the cold waters of the Seine. “Obviously, with the temperatures, we know very well that we will have to be strong. But when we saw the young man sinking, we knew that we had to go,” he explains.
And the policeman concluded: “If everyone hadn’t been there, we would have had a dramatic end. Fortunately, it ended well”. The young man was hospitalized with hypothermia. The second suspect spotted was also arrested. He is also 17 years old and has been taken into police custody.
–
