French court sentenced yesterday, friday, three French policemen to suspended prison terms for using excessive force in the 2017 arrest of a young black man, sparking protests outside the courthouse with protesters calling for the officers to be jailed.

The arrest of Theodore Louakas in the Paris suburb of Aulnes-sous-Bois following an ID check in 2017, when he was 22, was one of several cases in recent years that have brought French police under the public spotlight for racism and violent behavior sparking street protests.

Police officer Marc-Antoine Castellin was sentenced to prison of one year suspended for exercise of voluntary violence for hitting Luakas causing serious injuries to his anus with a police club.

The judges ruled that the incontinence caused by Luakas’ injury could not be considered a permanent disability. Rape charges originally brought against Castellen were dropped before trial.

Two other police officers, Jeremy Doolen and Tony Oshar, who were present and beat Luakas during his arrest, were sentenced to three months’ imprisonment each with a suspended sentence.

Castellen was banned from working as a police officer in public for five years, while the other two officers were banned for two years.

Luaka’s lawyer, Antoine Vey, said the ruling was a “victory” confirming that “Theo was a victim and there is no justification for him being beaten”.

However, protesters at the courthouse shouted slogans calling for the jailing of the police officers. “It’s a sham to have a suspended sentence for the mutilation of Theo for life,” said one protester, Samia El Kalfawi, whose nephew Souheil was killed by a police officer in 2021.

Defense attorneys told the court that the police’s use of force was legal, necessary and proportionate. Castellen’s lawyer said the accusations of racism against his client were unfounded.

Prosecutor Loic Pazo had asked for a three-year suspended prison sentence for Castellen and ruled that Luakas’ injury was a permanent disability. He asked for a suspended sentence of six and three months for the other two police officers.

“We want a police force that protects us, not police officers like those who use unnecessary force,” he told the court on Thursday, calling the violence unnecessary and “vindictive” as Luaka did not pose an immediate threat.

Luaka, 29 years old today, declared during the trial that he is “living dead” after his arrest. He told reporters before the verdict was announced that the amount of the sentence did not matter to him as long as the officers were found guilty and the truth was heard.

Most cases against police officers for deliberate violence are dismissed before they reach trial in France, and in 2021, less than 15% of convictions actually resulted in a prison sentence, according to official figures.