French policemen go on trial over 2020 beating of Black man

In their arrest report, the officers claimed the producer had hit them and tried to seize a truncheon, a version of events refuted by the camera footage that French media released later.PARIS (AFP) — Three French policemen went on trial on Monday over the beating of a Black music producer they said was not wearing a face mask during the Covid pandemic, in a rare police brutality case to go to court.The assault on Michel Zecler, now 47, triggered renewed outrage in France over police violence, which victims and researchers say is systemic but authorities and law enforcement unions claim is limited to isolated cases.Zecler arrived in court wearing a white shirt and dark blue jacket, accompanied by many supporters, including the deputy mayor of Paris for international relations, Audrey Pulvar, as well as several French music and showbiz personalities. Not all were able to make it into the small courtroom.“I expect this trial to hold the police officers accountable,” Zecler told AFP in a recent interview.Police brutality has been thrust back into the spotlight during student-led protests in recent weeks, which have seen young people seriously injured.Assault on cameraPolice stopped Zecler outside his Paris studio on Nov. 21, 2020, accusing him of failing to wear a mandatory face mask and suspecting him of cannabis use.They pushed him into the entrance of his office and violently beat him in an assault recorded by his studio’s security cameras.Police officers Aurelien Lapersonne, now aged 29, Pierre Plantier, 37, and Philippe Tondeux, 50, face charges of intentional violence committed in a group, as well as forgery when they tried to cover up their actions in an official report.They risk up to 15 years in jail in the trial, which is scheduled to last two weeks.The defendants sat side-by-side in the dock, one with his eyes lowered, one slumped in his seat, and a third with his hands between his knees.An investigator said colleagues described Plantier, a father of a 6-year-old who is also a reserve firefighter, as “calm,” “discreet” and good at resolving conflicts.The policemen’s lawyers, contacted by AFP, had declined to comment before the trial.‘Racist insults’The producer suffered around 30 punches and truncheon blows to the face and body in an assault lasting about five minutes, according to the investigation.The medical report noted craniofacial trauma, a wound to the lip and scalp, and a complete rupture of his biceps tendon, which left him unable to perform his job for 45 days.France’s ombudswoman has said police used “racist insults” during the assault, according to four witnesses.But those charged denied this and the alleged racism was not included in the indictment.Zecler told AFP they had used a racist slur against him.“I was insulted and I will repeat this at the hearing,” he said.In their arrest report, the officers claimed the producer had hit them and tried to seize a truncheon, a version of events refuted by the camera footage that French media website Loopsider released later.“I don’t understand the hatred I saw in their eyes,” said Zecler, who has a titanium anchor in his left arm after the ruptured tendon and says he still suffers from nightmares.“If there hadn’t been cameras … their reports would have been enough to send me to prison,” he said.Rare convictionsIn another case to go before a judge, a French policeman is to be tried for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk at point-blank range in June 2023 outside Paris.Guilty verdicts in alleged police brutality cases are rare.In 2024, a judge gave suspended jail sentences to three officers who inflicted irreversible rectal injuries on a Black man, Theo Luhaka, during a stop-and-search in 2017.Young men “perceived as Arab, Black or from North Africa” are four times more likely to be stopped than the rest of the population, according to a report last year by France’s rights chief.—By CECILE FEUILLATRE Agence France-PresseSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads