LBD shooting of Adnane Nassih: the CCTV images that incriminate the police
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On 22 February 2020 in Brunoy (Essonne), Adnane Nassih, aged 19, lost an eye to an LBD shot to the face. In partnership with Libération, we are publishing an analysis and a 3D reconstruction of the circumstances of the incident, based on previously unseen CCTV footage. Our investigation demonstrates that the young man posed no danger to the police officers and formally contradicts the statements of Yann T., the officer who fired the shot.
- Incident date
- Location
- Brunoy (France)
- Victim(s)
- Adnane Nassih (19 y.o.)
- Consequence(s)
- Éborgnement
- Force(s) involved
- Police nationale, BAC
- Methods employed
- Lanceur de Balle de Défense (LBD)
- Theme(s)
- Partenaire(s)
- Libération
- Methodology
On 22 February 2020, at 11:17 pm, Adnane Nassih, aged 19, was seriously wounded in the face by a shot from an LBD 40 launcher (a police weapon firing 40 mm rubber projectiles), during an operation by the BAC (Brigade anti-criminalité, plainclothes anti-crime unit) in the Hautes-Mardelles neighbourhood of Brunoy (Essonne). He underwent emergency surgery and lost the use of his right eye.
In partnership with Libération, Index analysed the town’s CCTV footage – never seen before – and reconstructed the scene in 3D. The investigation establishes that Adnane Nassih posed no danger to the police officers at the moment of the shot, and formally contradicts the statements of Yann T., the officer who fired.
What the CCTV footage shows
The footage makes it possible to follow the entire sequence. Adnane Nassih walks calmly towards the square, his arms by his sides, with no projectile in his hands. After a few steps, he turns his head, notices the police officers standing in the half-light, and stops. Yann T., the closest of them, moves towards him, his LBD raised in firing position.
The young man then turns around and runs in the opposite direction. After three strides, as he glances behind him, the officer fires once in his direction. The projectile is captured in flight by the CCTV camera, a few dozen centimetres from the muzzle. According to the measurement taken in the 3D model, the shot was fired from a distance of 7.29 metres, at a man who had his back turned and was running away.
An account contradicted by the footage
To justify his shot, Yann T. claims that Adnane Nassih made a “sudden movement” at chest level and threw an object at him. The CCTV footage and the 3D reconstruction establish the opposite: the young man’s hands are empty, he neither raises nor throws anything, and he is already fleeing, with his back turned, when the shot is fired.
Confronted with the footage by investigators, the officer himself acknowledged that “nothing can be seen on the video”. He has been placed under formal investigation (mise en examen, the French equivalent of being charged) for “intentional violence resulting in mutilation”.