Toulouse: a slap turns to tragedy, the remorse of a fire officer
In November 2019, two groups took advantage of the festive atmosphere of a bar in the center of Toulouse. A silly dispute pitted them. In the street, a firefighter hit, his opponent fell. Skull fracture, coma, rehabilitation… Judicial epilogue of an evening on the verge of death.
“I have no memory. Neither of the evening, nor of the week before, nor of the week after where I was in a coma. It started to come back the third week. It remains very vague…” The man who stands at the bar of the criminal court expresses himself, a priori, without difficulty. “In reality things are not so simple”, warns his lawyer Me Hélène Simon-Grassa. And the son of this passionate climatologist testifies to “three very difficult years, with a long rehabilitation, major physical and psychological consequences, suicidal impulses. For him, but also for our whole large family, it was very difficult to live ” .
“I returned to my work after 36 months, first in part-time therapy. It remains, sometimes, complicated”, testifies this 59-year-old man.
Behind him, a very uncomfortable man. “My life is to help,” warns this fire officer. This evening of November 30, 2019, this 54-year-old man had organized an evening of conviviality, to reduce the ranks, in a bar on rue Gabriel-Péri, in the heart of Toulouse. Between the young firefighters of his team and the future victim, under the background of alcohol, there is bickering. A bar story “with young firefighters a little hot, a little heavy”, summarizes the president Nicole Bergougnan.
A young firefighter was kicked out. His officer accompanied him. The other man and his group of friends also left the bar. “Why did you follow him for more than 100 meters? You wanted to fight,” worries the president.
brain dead
“Of course not. I don’t know…”
“You blamed him for ruining the evening. And you slapped him, a big slap!”
Clenched or open fist, as the support the defendant, does not matter. The victim fell backwards, fractured his skull against the pavement. Coma from the outset, fractured skull, intracranial hematoma … “This man turned out to be brain dead when help arrived,” recalls the prosecutor. And the violent firefighter first left the scene without looking back. “I didn’t think it was that serious…”
He was arrested on the spot. “Without any opposition, immediately warning that what he had done was dramatic, inexcusable”, insists his defender, Me Robin Senié-Delon. “We must not caricature. The consequences of the victim are heavy but the author of the blow is not impulsive. He does not resemble the violent people that you regularly judge in this room”.
“Sorry for ruining your life”
Incarcerated for 15 days, the firefighter then spent six months under an electronic bracelet, away from the field. “What I did was terrible but my hierarchy supported me. My career is not just about this gesture”, apologizes the officer. The prosecutor requires 3 years in prison, including two years suspended probation. “We must not reduce this man to a quarter of a regrettable second. Three years after the events, is it useful for him to return to prison?”, pleads his lawyer.
At the end of the hearing, this man, throat tied, tears in his eyes, apologized, looking at the victim “to have ruined your life. It’s not what I wanted”. He shook her hand before leaving to dry his tears.
The court sentenced him to three years in prison, including two years suspended probation with the obligation to reimburse the victim. He is going to make it end of his hard sentence under electronic bracelet. The court did not enter this conviction in his criminal record, which will allow him to end his career as a firefighter.