Police Officers in Paris Suburb Sentenced for Racist Insults During 2020 Arrest

The Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) court sentenced the police officer who had declared "a nigger like that, it doesn’t swim," to six months in prison with probation, reports France bleu. Four of his colleagues were sentenced to twelve months in prison, including six months in prison. The Bobigny prosecutor’s office dropped the charges of violence and only retained the insults.

The events took place on the night of Saturday to Sunday, April 26, 2020 around 1 a.m. Police officers had arrested an Egyptian suspected of stealing equipment on a construction site in the commune of Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine), with two accomplices. In his flight, the man had thrown himself into the Seine, but was eventually arrested.

As the police were pulling him out of the river, one of them had declared "a nigger like that, it doesn’t swim." "Ha! ha! it sinks, you should have tied a ball and chain to his foot," could be heard in the video of a scene that took place after the suspect’s arrest. The two police officers accused of making racist remarks had then been suspended.