LBD shooting of Adnane Nassih: the CCTV footage that incriminates the police
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On 22 February 2020 in Brunoy (Essonne), Adnane Nassih, 19, lost an eye to an LBD shot to the face. In partnership with Libération, Index is publishing an analysis and 3D reconstruction of the incident, based on previously unseen CCTV footage. Its investigation shows that the young man posed no danger to the officers and flatly contradicts the account given by Yann T., the officer who fired.
- Incident date
- Location
- Brunoy (France)
- Victim(s)
- Adnane Nassih (19 y.o.)
- Consequence(s)
- Loss of an eye
- Force(s) involved
- National Police, BAC
- Methods employed
- Rubber-bullet launcher (LBD)
- Theme(s)
- Partner(s)
- Libération
On 22 February 2020, at 11:17 pm, Adnane Nassih, 19, was seriously wounded in the face by a rubber projectile fired from a police LBD 40 launcher, during an operation by the BAC, a 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 previously unseen CCTV footage and reconstructed the scene in 3D. The investigation establishes that Adnane Nassih posed no danger to the officers when the shot was fired, and flatly contradicts the statements of Yann T., the officer who fired.
What the CCTV footage shows
The footage shows the entire sequence. Adnane Nassih walks calmly towards the square, his arms by his sides, with nothing in his hands to throw. 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, ready to fire.
The young man then turns and runs the other way. After three strides, as he glances back, the officer fires once at him. The CCTV camera catches the projectile in flight, less than a metre from the muzzle. Measured in the 3D model, the shot was fired from 7.29 metres, at a man with his back turned, 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 show the opposite: the young man’s hands are empty, he neither raises nor throws anything, and he is already running away, his back turned, when the shot is fired.
When investigators showed him the footage, the officer himself admitted that “nothing can be seen on the video”. He has been placed under formal investigation (mise en examen) for “assault resulting in mutilation”.