Amandine Giraud, a 27-year-old police officer, was assigned to the river brigade of the Paris police prefecture when she was swept away by the violent current of the flooded Seine during a training session on January 5, 2018, before drowning. Her body was recovered nearly four months later, on April 29. The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) estimated that there were “professional dysfunctions” that day and the investigating judge ruled that two police officers, Julien R. and Vincent E., should be tried for “involuntary manslaughter”. They appeared this Thursday at the Paris criminal court, says
The Parisian.
This training took place in the Monnaie arm, which runs along the Île de la Cité. Julien R., 41 years old, peacekeeper, was the boat pilot and diving instructor, while Vincent E., 43 years old, brigadier, was the captain on the day of the tragedy. After more than 7 hours of technical debates, the prosecution requested respective sentences of 2 years suspended prison and 18 months suspended prison against the two officials. No ban on practice was required.
Amandine Giraud arrived at the river brigade in 2014 and obtained her operational diver authorization a month before her death. “She loved water. (…) she joined the police for that”confided his mother, Elysabeth. “She was a lifeguard in the summer”she said, considering that Amandine is “died for nothing”. The mother of the young policewoman said she wanted answers.
“Technically fragile”
The investigation showed that the young policewoman’s colleagues knew she was “still technically fragile”. Some police officers declared during their hearings that they would not have dived in such conditions on the day of the tragedy, indicates The Parisian. Julien R. explained to him that it was entirely possible to dive that morning.
“During the 2016 flood, the diving advisor banned all dives; we could only do surface interventions”, did he declare. A ban that“we didn’t have” That day. “Experience is gained through training”he said, describing Amandine as “a friend, a colleague that I trained”. “If I had thought I was putting the divers in danger, I would not have gone there”.
On the equipment side, the stabilizing vest, which would have allowed Amandine to return to the surface by filling up with air, was not operational. Julien R. said he heard air coming out of the regulator during the checks, but that it was probably residual air. In addition, the decision was made to cut the lifeline connecting Amandine to the Zodiac as a safety measure, despite the fact that it is normally the diver’s job to do so.
“I find them really incompetent and cowardly”
The public prosecutor mentioned a “a number of inappropriate decisions”. For her part, Elysabeth reacted to RMCclaiming that she “I don’t want them anymore [les deux prévenus] are part of the police. I find them really incompetent and cowardly, so I really expect strong sanctions”. The court’s deliberations will be delivered at the end of September.
