"Is it a joke?" Asked the duty policeman

When the police intervened at the prison center in Réau on Sunday morning, the helicopter had already taken off. And with him Redoine Faïd, 46 years old, detained especially reported especially for his beautiful with explosives and hostage taking at Sequedin prison on April 13, 2013. According to elements of the internal administrative investigation on failures within the institution, officials were slow to take the alert seriously. While the helicopter stopped in the air, just above the main courtyard, at the prison gate, a supervisor tried to warn the police with an emergency phone … which did not work

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He then uses his personal cell phone, and dials 17. He gives the alert, explaining in essence that an escape is underway at the prison of Rare, by helicopter. The police officer's reaction on the other end of the line is fuse, according to the report: "Is this a joke?" The agent's negative and slightly annoyed answer is obviously not convincing since the police officer is quick to verify the identity of his interlocutor, by asking multiple precise questions: surname, first name, date and place of birth, address …

"Our colleagues blame themselves for not intervening"

The supervisor, in his forties, ends up getting upset and pbades on his colleague. With the latter, rebelote: the same questions on the part of the policeman. During this time, the first supervisor, exhausted, sees the members of the liberating commando release smoke, go to the parlors, return with Redoine Faïd, and leave quietly. It all lasted about ten minutes. It was only a few minutes later that a police car arrived, "without flashing lights" according to the prison staff.

Around 11am, a supervisor posted at the watchtower had seen, first, an abnormally low flying helicopter. The machine approached more and more, until landing in the courtyard of the prison, that is to say just behind the front door. The prison officer then tried to sound his alarm, which did not work. The supervisors are not armed, except those posted at the watchtower, who have a shotgun. Not very effective against the kalachnikovs of the very well organized commando who came to seek Redoine Faïd. In addition, it is forbidden to fire on a hovering helicopter, for security reasons. Indeed it could cause an accident.

Interviewed by telephone, Loïc Delbroc, union delegate of the UFAP-UNSA-Justice in Réau, believes that the escape would not necessarily have been prevented by a more prompt arrival of the police. "They have heavier weapons than us, but they could not have fired on the helicopter either, and there may have been some casualties." The trade unionist adds: "Our colleagues are angry at not having intervened, even if they did everything they could, everything they could, for example, all the grids were closed, those that the commando had to cut the grinder. "