A French court is set to hear the case of three police officers accused of excessive use of force in assaulting Michel Zecler, a Black music producer in Paris in 2020, citing his failure to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic. CCTV evidence clearly shows the officers punching and striking him with batons over 30 times, and filing false reports to frame him. They face up to 15 years in prison.
Three French police officers are preparing to go to trial for jointly assaulting Michel Zecler, a 47-year-old Black music producer. The officers claimed he was not wearing a mask as required during the COVID-19 outbreak. This is a rare case of police violence proceeding to criminal court.
Zecler’s case took place on 21 Nov 2020 when police stopped him outside his Paris studio, accusing him of not wearing a mask as mandated and suspecting cannabis use. They pushed him into the studio entrance and violently assaulted him. The entire incident was captured on the studio’s CCTV.
The three charged officers are Aurélien B., 29, Pierre P., 37, and Philippe T. They face charges of intentional violence and falsifying official documents to cover up their actions. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. Their lawyers have declined to comment prior to the trial.
Investigations found that over approximately five minutes, Zecler was punched and beaten with police batons around 30 times on his face and body. Medical reports show injuries to his skull and face, wounds on his lips and scalp, and complete tearing of his biceps tendon, resulting in 45 days of work incapacity.
The French Ombudsman reported that, based on four witnesses, police used racist language while assaulting Zecler. However, the accused officers deny these allegations, and the racial abuse claims were not included in the prosecutor’s charges. Zecler told AFP the officers used racist slurs and said he would raise this issue again during the trial.
In police reports, officers claimed Zecler attacked them and tried to grab a baton. These claims were disproved by CCTV footage later released by French media outlet Loopsider several days afterward.
Zecler said he cannot understand the hatred in the officers’ eyes. After his torn tendon, he had to have a titanium tendon brace implanted in his left arm and continues to suffer nightmares about the incident. He added that without the CCTV footage, the police report alone could have been enough to imprison him.
In France, few cases alleging police violence proceed to criminal court because most are handled internally within police departments.
Another case soon to be heard involves a French police officer charged in the June 2023 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk near Paris. Video footage of the shooting contradicted police statements and sparked nationwide protests.
However, convictions of police for violence remain rare. In 2024, a court sentenced three officers to suspended prison terms for assaulting Théo Luhaka, a Black man, causing permanent anal injuries during a 2017 search.
A French human rights report, based on a survey of over 5,000 people last year, found that young men perceived as Arab, Black, or of North African descent are four times more likely to be stopped by police and 12 times more likely to be subjected to body searches than other groups.
. SourceAFP