Almost five years after the fatal drowning of Steve Maia Caniço during the music festival in Nantes, a police commissioner, a rare occurrence, will find himself on Monday June 10, 2024 at the bar of a court in Rennes. He is accused of manslaughter.
Grégoire Chassaing, 54, who has always been well rated by his superiors, is ultimately the only civil servant who was present at this evening to have to answer for his actions criminally for his management of the controversial police intervention which would have led to the death of the 24-year-old after-school activity leader.
The prefect Claude d’Harcourt, his chief of staff, the socialist mayor of Nantes Johanna Rolland and another commissioner Thierry Palermo who had for a time been indicted or placed under the status of assisted witness, benefited from a no -place at the end of the instruction.
The drama dates back to the night of June 21 to 22, 2019
Divisional Commissioner Grégoire Chassaing was in charge of the security system on the ground on the island of Nantes on the night of June 21 to 22, 2019.
That evening, away from the city center, several hundred young people danced to the sound of around ten sound systems, installed in this port area, on the banks of the Loire. Like previous editions, it is planned to cut the sound at 4 o’clock.
Police officers, including Grégoire Chassaing, ask the DJ of one of the sound systems to stop the music but he refuses. The commissioner asks his staff to equip themselves with their helmets.
Disgruntled partygoers threw stones and bottles at police officers who in turn threw tear gas grenades (33 in total) as well as 12 defensive bullets (LBD) and 10 de-encirclement grenades.
The accused ” had the feeling of being looked at (by the DJ) and therefore challenged in his authority. He could have chosen not to attack, it’s an ego problem », Estimated Me William Pineau, lawyer for the civil parties.
Several people fall from the dock into 21 degree water. Some were picked up by an Atlantic Water Safety (SNA) boat, which had been planned for the evening.
But the next day, Steve’s mother Maia Caniço went to the Nantes police station to report that she had not heard from her son.
After several weeks of mobilization of his loved ones, the body was found on June 22, 2019, with his cell phone in a pocket, which will be decisive in the investigation.
The victim’s cell phone, decisive in the investigation
Because telephone expertise will make it possible to determine that Steve fell into the Loire very precisely at 4:33:14 a.m., i.e. after the first use of tear gas grenades, at 4:31 a.m.
For the lawyers of the civil parties, the death of Steve, who did not know how to swim, was indeed due to the action of the official.
Telephony ” provides proof of the causal link between the death of Steve Maia Caniço and the police intervention », Estimates Me Cécile de Oliveira, counsel for Steve’s family.
According to the prosecution, the commissioner had a disproportionate use of weaponsdid not wait for reinforcements to arrive or wanted to carry out arrests when they were not necessary given the numerical inferiority and the configuration of the premises.
According to Me Pineau, this “ disaster » is the result “ a bad choice of tactical intervention by a police officer who individually decided to do so in disregard of the rules governing the use of force “.
“Judicial steamroller”
But for Me Louis Cailliez, lawyer for the police officer, Steve Maia Caniço “ was not affected by tear gas before his fall. He fell regardless of any contributing factor of a police nature, as did five people before him “.
Me Cailliez believes that his client serves “ ideal fuse », castigating a “ judicial steamroller “.
The trial is expected to last five days, with around thirty witnesses and experts and no less than 111 accredited journalists. The judgment will be reserved at the end of the trial.
The defendant faces a sentence of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros.
