On 25th June 2013, a 52 year-old Malian-born mother, Fatouma Kebe lost an eye at the hands of the police, following the brutal arrest of her two sons. What is worse, it was all a mistake – neither of her sons were the officers’ target. In 2020, the presiding court stated the officers used a disproportionate level of force, but cleared them of all charges.
On that day in Villemomble, a Parisian suburb, six cameras captured the events. A fresh examination of the evidence, in conjunction with digital modelling, shows how the methods used by the police disregarded the Kebe family’s safety without justification and reveals officers’ lies during the court hearings.
“Without these videos, I would be in jail right now,” says Mrs. Kebe’s son Makan.
Revue
- The film received a special mention at the DIG Awards 2021 (‘Investigative Medium’ category), “for the technical quality in an investigation on unjustified violence used by the police, convincingly proven by the frame-by-frame video.”
- GIJN Editor’s pick: 2021’s Best Investigative Stories in French: « The factual reconstruction of the operation gives the viewers all the elements to form their conclusion. »
- Interview « Au Poste » (D. Dufresne/Blast)
- « Intelligibilité du numérique » (academic publication): « L’enquête OSINT. Des traces ouvertes au récit journalistique fermé « (R. Roumanos, O. Le Deuff)
