A gendarme killed, this Monday, July 31, 2023 in Isbergues (Pas-de-Calais), a man who was threatening. The Béthune public prosecutor’s office opened two investigations and announced at the end of the day on Monday the placement of the gendarme in police custody.
[Updated on July 31, 2023 at 6:40 p.m.] A gendarme killed a man, this Monday, July 31, 2023, at the end of the morning, in the town of Isbergues, in Pas-de-Calais. The tragedy occurred when the victim was threatening to the police, as revealed by La Voix du Nord. On Monday evening, the Béthune public prosecutor’s office announced the opening of two separate investigations “for attempted murder of persons holding public authority and threats to the neighbor” and “for intentional violence resulting in death without intention to give it”. The gendarme was taken into custody, the prosecution said.
According to the first elements collected by the local daily La Voix du Nord, the local gendarmerie had been called for a dispute between neighbors, before the situation got out of hand. It would be a “violent brawl” according to Actu Pas-de-Calais. Two soldiers, aged 25 and 35, were sent to the scene to assess the situation. When they arrived, they discovered a 66-year-old man with a katana, a Japanese sword. This resident, who would already be known for neighborhood disturbances, then allegedly advanced threateningly towards the pair. “The first elements of the investigation suggest that the man immediately threatened the gendarmes with a saber”, explained the parquet floor of Béthune in a press release published Monday evening. “They would have tried to calm him down before using, in vain, the taser, then the defense stick (…) One of the soldiers would then have fired twice”.
Despite orders to stop, the man would not have complied and would have received a shot from an electric pulse gun (taser type). That wouldn’t have stopped him from continuing his threats. The service weapon of one of the two gendarmes was then used twice: once in the leg, then a second in the abdomen. La Voix du Nord claimed the day that the older constable would have fired the fatal shot. Despite the intervention of the emergency services, the individual died. Despite the intervention of the emergency services, the individual died. The investigation, opened by the Béthune public prosecutor’s office, will have to determine in particular whether the circumstances of self-defense were met at the time of the shooting.
