The first rogue cop grabs Zecler, who is wearing hood. Screen shot Loopsider.com
Three White police officers in France who violently assaulted a Black music producer will remain in jail until prosecutors decide where they should stand trial, the authorities said.
The music producer, Michel Zecler, says he was beaten with fists and a night stick for no reason after police followed him into his studio. Zecler says he’d been outdoors but when he realized police were near the vicinity he went inside because he wasn’t wearing a face mask, which is a violation of law in France.
The three police officers then followed Zecler into the building and assaulted him for several minutes. A video attack of the police gang violence was posted on the website loopsider.com on Thursday.
Paris prosecutor, Remy Heitz, said the officers initially denied that they beat Zecler but the when confronted with video of the attack admitted to the assault and claimed they did so “out of fear and panic.” This is precisely the same excuse White police officers have historically used—“I feared for my life”—to get away with shooting death of unarmed Black men in the United States.
Zecler said he was called a “dirty nigger”—in French—while he was being pummeled by the three officers.
Another officer has been suspended for throwing teargas bomb into Zecler’s studio after the assault by the three officers. The video shows a spark of fire then smoke engulfing the room where Zecler was assaulted.
