Gendarmes’ excessive force
sparks riot in French Quarter
~ Three Gendarmes currently under investigation ~
FRENCH QUARTER--Angry crowds in French Quarter blocked the main RN7 road with a container truck, and set fire to garbage bins and an unmarked Gendarmerie vehicle Tuesday morning, protesting a Gendarmerie patrol’s alleged beating of a man earlier during a routine identity control that had gone awry.
Other reports of Gendarmes being pelted with stones and car tyres being slashed could not be confirmed. Due to the blockade, fire trucks were unable to put out the fire in the middle of the road, which eventually burnt itself out.
Hostile scenes lasted much of the day as residents reacted emotionally to events that had transpired around 8:00am when three Gendarmes approached 37-year-old St. Martiner Eugene Brouta, a father of four, to check his identity papers.
In circumstances that were not exactly clear from mixed reports, Brouta, who was taking a break from land surveying work, was not able to produce his documents at first and was handcuffed after, according to Gendarmes, he became aggressive. They said Brouta had been released after he found his passport in his truck and showed it to them, and he and the Gendarmes had shaken hands.
A completely different picture emerged from several witnesses who attested to the Gendarmes using excessive force, forcing Brouta’s hands behind his head and back, handcuffing him, and kicking him in the stomach while on the ground.
Commandant Baras, who constantly monitored the mood of the crowd, said his information indicated Brouta had not resisted arrest, but had been verbally aggressive. He acknowledged there had been “a kick,” a procedure to control a person, and handcuffs possibly applied too forcefully.
Some 20 minutes later after the control appeared to be over, a call was made to emergency services indicating Brouta was seriously hurt, and he was taken to hospital. It was not known exactly what his injuries were, but reports suggested he had neck injuries.
Meanwhile, tension in the crowd escalated, with many shouting for justice, for the Gendarmes to apologise, and for President Louis-Constant Fleming to resolve the matter.
The first elected official to arrive was Territorial Councillor Richard Baray. Opposition Councillor Noreen Brooks was also on hand.
However, the crowd would not be consoled and as emotions got the better of many in the intense heat of the sun, at least four persons fainted, including Brouta’s hysterical wife who was clutching a baby.
“My husband has never done anything wrong. He only does good things to help people. Why does he deserve to be brutalised?” she wailed.
President Louis-Constant Fleming finally arrived with vice-presidents and other Territorial Councillors and Collectivité officials at 12:30pm to talk with Commandant Baras, the residents, and the victim’s family, and to ascertain what had happened. He promised the crowd a proper investigation would take place.
Amid the chaotic scenes and noise of the shouting, nothing was resolved at this point and protestors demanded to see Préfet Délégué Dominique Lacroix who arrived with Prosecutor Jacques Louvier.
Lacroix addressed the crowd and assured them an immediate investigation would be conducted. He said the three Gendarmes in question would be suspended and might face prosecution if they were found to be guilty. He also said they would be suspended from working in French Quarter immediately while the investigation was under way.
Lacroix’s statement appeased the crowd and with the intervention of activist and board member of Conseil du Quartier for French Quarter Christiane Carty, who had been negotiating with the Préfet on behalf of the residents, the blockade was removed and traffic was allowed to flow again at around 3:15pm.
“I was satisfied that the President, elected officials and the Préfet, all responded,” said Carty. “The community is asking to be recognised in the sense that we have always been forgotten in French Quarter. It’s a pressure that has to be released, but we don’t want what occurred today to happen again.”
She added: “I received assurance (that) those Gendarmes will not be working in French Quarter while the investigation is on. Fortunately, the situation has calmed down, because the people were very upset. With the financial crisis facing us, no jobs, and other frustrations, it doesn’t take much for the people to get angry.”
Carty acknowledged Gendarmes were needed to control delinquency in the communities, but at the same time the Collectivité must provide activities, sports, and social programmes for young people to deter them from delinquency.
She said it was unlikely Brouta had said or done anything serious that would have provoked a reaction from the Gendarmes in that manner.
“He’s a very quiet person. But one of the Gendarmes, not the ones involved, told me this morning they are under a lot of pressure. They are afraid, and don’t know the Caribbean or the culture.
In a statement issued later, Fleming assured the inhabitants of French Quarter that his cabinet would keep him informed of this very serious situation and he would be following the investigation very closely.
