Jérôme Rodrigues case: police officer to stand trial before a criminal court

Six years after the events, the French justice system has aligned with the findings of Index’s investigation and has definitively rejected the self-defense claim.

On Friday, January 24, 2025, two French investigating judges ordered that Brice C., the officer responsible for mutilating Jérôme Rodrigues, be tried before a criminal court for “intentional violence resulting in permanent mutilation”. This offense carries a maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison.

In 2023, INDEX published an investigation into the circumstances that led to the mutilation of Jérôme Rodrigues, which was submitted as evidence in the legal case by his lawyer, Arié Alimi.

On January 26, 2019, during Act XI of the Yellow Vests movement, Jérôme Rodrigues was seriously injured by the explosion of a crowd-control grenade at his feet, resulting in the permanent loss of his right eye.

Through a detailed analysis of numerous available videos, our investigation showed that officer Brice C. had thrown the grenade toward a group of demonstrators — including Jérôme Rodrigues — that posed no immediate threat at the time. This directly contradicted Brice C.’s claim that he used the grenade while his police unit was “under a hail of projectiles”.

The court has now confirmed Index’s findings: the officer’s claim of self-defense has been definitively dismissed.

The trial date for officer Brice C. has not yet been set.