French police officers charged with forging evidence and assaulting UK aid worker

THREE French CRS riot police officers have been charged with forging evidence against UK aid worker Tom Ciotkowski.

Ciotkowski was placed in custody after filming CRS officers stopping aid workers handing out food to migrants in Calais in 2018. During his arrest, he was violently attacked by one of the policemen before being placed in custody for 36 hours and charged with assault and contempt. However, he was later acquitted after a court was shown footage of the police officer assaulting him.

During the court hearing, jurors were told that the aid worker had noticed charity volunteers arguing with police and stopped to record the commotion. He then saw an officer kick a volunteer two times before striking a woman with a truncheon.

When he told the police officer: “Do not hit women” and requested his badge number a scuffle ensued. Police insisted it was Ciotkowski who assaulted the officer by pushing him in the chest and swore at him and that the officer had acted in self-defence. All three policemen gave identical stories.

“The facts reported by the police officers proved to be inaccurate,” said Pascal Marionville, the public prosecutor, and added, “What has been exposed is the culture of covering up wrong by a few bad apples in the system.”