Police Violence and Social Reactions

Extract

[...] The Court then found a violation of Article 3 of the Convention, which guarantees protection against inhuman and degrading treatment. When the police action is potentially deadly, the European Court of Human Rights assesses conventionality in light of the violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights8. In a decision Chebab against France On 23 May 2019, the European Court held, after the use of his weapon against an aggressive person by a night-duty police officer cornered against a fence, that the use of force was 'absolutely necessary' to 'ensure the defence of any person against violence' and, in particular, 'to carry out a regular arrest'9. [...]

[...] If police activities lead to judicial treatment the perception of police violence generates strong reactions (II). The judicial treatment of police activities If the exercise of police activity is limited by texts violence committed in violation of these rules gives rise to sanctions The encadrement of police activities In an article, Amnesty International recalls that there are strict legal and international provisions that govern the use of force by the state and the police and adds that the mission of law enforcement is above all to protect the right to life, a right provided for in Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [...]

[...] Police violence, described as 'police brutality' by Amnesty International, consists of the illegal use of force by the police. These acts of violence, documented in several countries, result in sanctions.5. In 2020, Nils Muiznieks of the Council of Europe urged states to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these violence6. In this regard, the violence committed in disregard of the requirement of proportionality led the European Court to condemn France for the violent action of a group of the National Police's Intervention Group, the National Police Intervention Group. [...]

[...] This diffusion generated strong political and social reactions12. In this context, given the risk of public disorder, a demonstration against police violence was even banned. Despite the police officer involved being placed in custody, a dozen arrests took place in Nanterre on the evening of the incident due to tensions with law enforcement Certain commentators saw in this incident the expression of a 'racist crime', an idea however contradicted in 2020 by the President of the Republic who had then excluded all 'systemic racism' in the police13. [...]

[...] The lawyer for the police officer in question has also expressed his incomprehension, the officer having, according to him, 'applied a shot that he thought was necessary'16. The maintenance of order 'à la française' is part of the legacy of a democratic state that respects the rule of law. However, certain police activities, defined in the texts, cannot deviate and become violent, lest they incur sanctions. The recent Nahel case, highlighted in the media, is a demonstration that there are still gray areas regarding police activities. [...]