Rouen: an investigation opened after the explosion of a projectile thrown by a police officer at the feet of a child

An investigation was opened by the public prosecutor of Rouen following the broadcast of videos showing a police officer throwing a projectile which exploded at the feet of a child, on the sidelines of the demonstrations of October 24, we learned on Tuesday from the prefecture.

The Seine-Maritime prefecture told AFP that a “judicial investigation was opened by the public prosecutor in order to determine the exact circumstances of the intervention”. Asked by AFP, Rouen prosecutor Sébastien Gallois did not respond Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, the mayor (PS) of Rouen Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol took legal action concerning this throwing of a projectile by a police officer towards children and demanding “sanctions” if “failures were confirmed”. Saturday October 24, around 5 p.m., a mother and her three minor children “returned from a walk towards their home”, according to the mayor's report.

The mother “was not participating in a gathering” when “a projectile coming from the police exploded at the foot of one of her 5-year-old children”, we can read in this letter addressed to the public prosecutor of Rouen Sébastien Gallois. “No situation of disturbance of public order was apparent and did not justify the use of this projectile at this precise moment,” adds Mr. Mayer-Rossignol. According to the mayor of Rouen, the mother filed a complaint against X.

In the videos consulted by AFP, a helmeted biker with the logo “Police” pulls the pin and throws a projectile a few meters in front of him which explodes at the feet of a woman surrounded by three children. The family then walked in a quiet street preceded by passers-by, some of whom, with hoods and surgical masks, seem to have participated in the demonstration of October 24, before fleeing in tears from a cloud of tear gas.

The LFI deputy for the 4th constituency of Seine-Maritime, Alma Dufour, also took legal action on Tuesday under article 40 for the same facts and “disproportionate uses of force and illegal actions of police officers”. Ms. Dufour's report also concerns “attacks attributed to small far-right groups” on October 24, after having identified some of their members on videos.