Riots in Brest: this heroic cop who saved an old lady

Humble and of a discreet nature, Mick will not testify himself, because it is especially not his style to put himself forward. It will not be displayed publicly because the police officers are far too exposed at the moment. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, however, this cop acted like a hero. Alliance union delegate at the Brest police station, Emmanuel Autret does not want to ignore this story that has gone under the radar, despite many witnesses who have seen it all. He will do so all the less because he too was an actor and a witness.

This Saturday, July 1, Brest saw its fourth night of riots. Emmanuel, Mick and Lydie, three cops from the night brigade, are on all fronts. At 3:40 a.m., they were called for the fire of two vehicles in Recouvrance, which threatened a building. “Let’s go for it. On site, we see gasoline spilling into the sewers. There are about ten neighbors outside. On the ground floor, two shutters are melted and the windows shattered, and smoke rushes into the apartment in a massive way. I report the situation to my staff, when I see Mick running towards the front door of the burning building. He is equipped with his anti-fire hood provided by the administration.

“He gives two or three kicks in the lower window which does not yield. It’s getting hot potato, and he has the idea to take his administrative lamp. By striking two or three times with this metal lamp, he managed to break the window and rush into the hall. The overwhelmed firefighters have not yet arrived. The smoke licks the facade to the top, it’s impressive. People are at the windows of the six-story building, with their kids. They start to panic. With the colleague who stayed with me, we give them instructions through the microphone outside the vehicle. They obey, they close the windows, they seal themselves off”.

“Applauded by the neighbors”

“Ten minutes after entering, I see Mick coming back from behind the residence, with an old lady. He will tell me later that he took the initiative to go and check the apartment on both sides. Lucky for him, the front door wasn’t locked. He entered the apartment. It was all dark, there was a lot of smoke everywhere. By lighting with his lamp, he fell on the elderly person on all fours, prostrate, disoriented, because she did not know the apartment: she was not at home, but at a friend’s. She must have woken up in the dark, not knowing where the light switch was.

There were even “clients” of ours who came to shake his hand and congratulate him. I said to the colleague: “This is unheard of! »

“When my colleague leaves the residence, the firefighters arrive. Their first imperative is not to enter the apartment. It is to put out the fire. A few more minutes would have passed before they entered the building. I am 28 years old in the box, I have done interventions with big fires. There, clearly, Mick saved the life of this lady. When he came out, he was applauded by the neighbors outside. There were even “clients” of ours who came to shake his hand and congratulate him. I said to the colleague: “It’s unheard of, that”! He didn’t even realize. But he didn’t do anything. He had information that the car’s tires on the side of the curb had already exploded. He chose the moment T to go for it. He knew he had a minute or two to act. Mick, humble and discreet, thinks he took a calculated risk. His colleague is sure of it.