On Monday, January 19, the Sandy Ground neighborhood awoke to a tense atmosphere. The access bridge was blocked by an improvised barricade, making traffic impossible. The bridge barriers and a vehicle were set on fire, while poles and garbage cans were placed in the roadway, plunging the area into a near-total blockade.
The protest stemmed from a police check that took place the previous evening at 23 p.m. at the entrance to the neighborhood. According to authorities, the intervention escalated after more than thirty minutes of insults directed at the officers, leading to the arrest of a young man named Mathieu, who was taken into custody. Anger is running high in the neighborhood. Some young people claim that the arrested man was violently beaten by the police, a version of events disputed by the gendarmerie.
Present at the scene, Commander Hugues Loyez confirmed that the young man “was not beaten” and that his health was compatible with police custody, specifying that a visit to the hospital is standard procedure after any arrest. According to the gendarmerie, the young man allegedly bit two officers, causing them to bleed. These events were reportedly corroborated by several witnesses, who also described a high level of violence during the intervention.
The blockade, maintained by local residents and youths, will only be lifted if news of the young man is received, or even if he is released. Authorities, for their part, are calling for calm and want to restore traffic flow to ensure the safety of residents, in a context already marked by an attempted carjacking the previous night.
A statement from the prefecture is reportedly being prepared. As of mid-morning, the situation remained at a standstill.
Source: Faxinfo https://faxinfo.fr/en/sandy-ground-sous-tension-apres-une-interpellation/
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