Rouen Police Officers Fired Over Racist Messages, Sparking National Outcry

The story dates back to December 2019, when a young black police officer filed a complaint against his colleagues for discovering that he was the target of racist remarks exchanged privately on WhatsApp, reports the AFP.

More than 6 months after the complaint filed by the police officer, transferred since to the administrative and judicial assistance unit, the media widely reported the case, leading to the reaction of the head of the DGPN. "I will ensure that all administrative consequences are drawn from these acts which obviously have no place in the national police and call for the most severe responses," he had promised last June. In the director general’s view, the police in France are not racist. "It suffers from these behaviors that in no way correspond to the republican values it defends," he had specified.

More than three months after this promise, a disciplinary council was held on September 11. It was unanimously decided to dismiss three police officers. According to the Directorate General of the National Police (DGPN), another police cadet was also excluded. The same fate was reserved for a security assistant (ADS), whose contract was terminated.

In addition, a preliminary investigation has also been opened and the IGPN (General Inspectorate of the National Police) seized "on the grounds of various offenses, including aggravated non-public defamation and non-public incitement to discrimination," the same source said.