Two off-duty police officers were violently attacked in Old Nice during the night from Thursday to Friday, in circumstances that are still unclear. The five suspects, aged 27 to 34, arrested shortly after the events by the anti-crime brigade (BAC), were presented in immediate appearance on Saturday.
Despite the seriousness of the attack and the requisitions of the Nice public prosecutor, Damien Martinelli, who had requested their placement in pre-trial detention, the judge of freedoms and detention decided to release them under judicial supervision. Judgment is set for Tuesday.
Police unions very upset
The decision to release under judicial supervision provoked a strong reaction from police unions. Rudy Manna, spokesperson for the Alliance Police nationale union, denounced “anti-cop hatred” on X and pointed to an escalation of violence described as “France A Clockwork Orange”.
Laurent Alcaraz, representative of the same union for the Alpes-Maritimes, expressed his indignation at this legal decision, judging that it was “no longer a brawl”, but an attempt “to kill with foot a man on the sidewalk.”
Two divergent versions
The events took place on rue de la Préfecture, near a bar where the police officers had spent the evening with two female colleagues. According to Le Figaro, two versions of the origin of the altercation are circulating. One mentions an inappropriate remark made by a suspect towards a policewoman, while the other reports an offer of cannabis made to the police, who allegedly declined by specifying their profession.
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A video, posted on social networks, shows one of the victims on the ground, inert, while the other is dragged to the ground and severely beaten, including on the head. Despite the intervention of witnesses, the attackers continued their action until hitting the first police officer to the ground again. The two victims, hospitalized, each received four days of total incapacity for work (ITT).
