Picture of French police officer seemingly strangling a man is real - taken during Yellow Vest protest in Nantes

Ollie Richardson
Are You a Yellow Vest
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 16:46 UTC

© Bsaz/Facebook

On the sidelines of a gathering in Nantes against police violence, a man was violently arrested by a Brigade Anti-criminalité agent. Captured in pictures by reporters who were present on site, the scene has been spread around social networks.

A helmeted policeman seemingly strangling a relatively old man on the ground: this black and white image has been doing the rounds on social networks. While Internet users wondered about the origin of the snapshot, some suspect that it was taken in Moscow during recent oppositional demonstrations, it is the photographer Bsaz who captured this image on August 3rd in Nantes.

The scene indeed took place during a demonstration against police violence riddled with excesses, on the sidelines of a rally for the young Steve Maia Caniço, who went missing in Nantes after a violent dispersal by the police of an evening, and whose body was found in the Loire.

As was reported on the CheckNews page of the Libération website, the same scene was also filmed by the reporter Mezone. In his footage, we see the individual in the photo, shirtless, approaching and talking to the police with big gestures. As he seems to turn around, a policeman rushes towards him and then slams him violently on the ground, a hand gripping the civilian's neck. A baton blow forces the cameraman to back down while the detention continues.

The reporter, interviewed by Libération, assures that the protester had "done nothing prior" despite the tense context, and testifies: "The person on the ground in the photo went to the BAC to tell them that a man was on the ground, just a little further, to ask them to calm down."

The Police Information and Communication Service (Sicop), in turn, said that the man had "thrown a glass bottle against a police officer", a scene that is not visible in the footage. He was then "driven by the police to the hospital" because of the effect of tear gas. Still according to the same source, he admitted the projectile throw, then was released from custody.

In other images posted on Twitter, we can distinguish the same man at the foot of a BAC agent who stopped him. Handcuffed, he seems to have trouble breathing.

Comment: More from CheckNews (machine translation):

Contacted by CheckNews, the street-reporter says: "We were in the late afternoon, it should be 16:30 or 17 hours, and we were in the city center, between the crossroads of streetcars and the street of peace. It was very tense, a person behind me was being taken care of by firefighters after a shot from LBD. "

Still according to him, "the person on the ground in the photo went to the BAC to tell them that a man was on the ground, just a little further, to ask them to calm down. This is where the BAC agent jumps on him and puts him on the ground.

He says, "He did not do anything before. He was just going to tell them that there was someone on the ground, not far away, under a blanket of survival. "

A photo showing a survival cover appears in the series of photos published by Bsaz on his Facebook account . Also contacted by CheckNews, the photographer assures: "There was indeed a wounded man on the ground, who could not be moved. And yet, teargas grenades continued to be thrown. The climate was very tense, with one injured on the ground. "

Did the man who was violently questioned attempt to alert the police to the presence of an injured person? "I did not hear it precisely, but it is possible. We were all trying to alert the police at that time, the photographer answers. They grabbed him, and when we got closer to him, while he was on the ground, they threw us a de-encircling grenade. Given the proximity to the injured person, who could not move, we were very scared for her. "

Two other demonstrators, present on the spot, and contacted by CheckNews, then ensure to have seen the man handcuffed, sitting on the ground, surrounded by men of the BAC. "He had great difficulty breathing," they say.

Evidence corroborated by a video circulating on Twitter. One recognizes the same man on the ground, at the feet of the agent of the BAC having questioned him, between two vans of police. While one of the agents tries to hide the scene with a supermarket cart, the man seems on the verge of unconsciousness, and witnesses ask the police to call for help.

While the police's version of the incident from the same article (machine translation)

When contacted by CheckNews, the Police Information and Communication Service (Sicop) gave another version of the facts: "This man was arrested because, a few minutes before - which is not shown on the video - he had thrown a glass bottle at a police officer. During his arrest, the man did not let himself be taken in, and tried to hit the police officer several times in the face (which is not clearly visible on the images)" The Sicop confirms that the man had to be taken into care of after the violent arrest, invoking the effect of tear gas: "He was taken by the police to the hospital, because he was inconvenienced by the gas."

And then what? "He came back to the police station at midnight. He was heard this morning, acknowledged the projectile throw, his custody was lifted and the investigation continues in preliminary."

Concerning the violence of the interpellation, the Sicop replied: "The colleague did as best he could. The objective was to try to keep him in handcuffs while he was handcuffed."