Moudon assault
How the suspect “swinging” of home-jacking has become “white”
The Vaudoise cantonal police resumed twice to describe the skin color of the man sought after after the assault on Monday. Explanations.
Home-jacking took place on Monday morning in Moudon on Monday morning. The author has robbed an apartment in the presence of her resident, while threatening her with a stabbing before fleeing with a booty. © Jean-Paul Guinnard/24 Hours
Jean-Paul Guinnard
- A burglar armed with a knife attacked a resident in her accommodation in Moudon.
- The Vaudoise police had to correct the physical description of the sought -after suspect.
- The attacker initially described as “swinging” turned out to be “white”.
- Police ensures that they are broadcasting calls for witnesses based on objective facts.
It is a term that the Vaud cantonal police has rarely used. In his research opinion broadcast this Wednesday, in connection with un home-jacking Who had taken place in Moudon two days earlier, the main suspect on the run was presented as “swinging”. A qualifier which could be considered abusive by some, or even of a racist nature. An hour later, this same font sent a correction: the individual was not ultimately “basically”. He was «blanc».
In the first version of the press release, the suspect was described as “swinging”. The police then changed the online version of this press release.
Vaud cantonal police press release
“It is my fault,” recognizes the communications officer who wrote the first press release. He explains that he was based on the victim’s statements during his advice to the police. The description mentioned a person with a “basant” complexion. Except that the inspectors in charge of the investigation were able to define that in reality the suspect was “white”. An important difference. Hence the second press release.
Communication: a criticized term
On the internet, the word “swinging” describes a person who is in color “brown, blackish or bistreed or who has been tanned, brown by the sun, the great outdoors.” “We really asked ourselves the question,” continues the communications officer. This is especially since the person was not described as of Maghreb or African origin.
Except that on the internet also, there are opinions that criticize the use of this term. This is the case of the Moroccan monthly “MunWho, in 2021, wrote that this word was well rooted in the colonial lexical field, that he was considered today with a racist connotation, referring to dark skin without being black and used in French concerning the Maghrebian population particularly.
“In this case, this is the factual description of a serious crime, an assault and threatens with a knife of a victim at his home,” said the cantonal police. Its objective is, with the possible collaboration of witnesses, to identify and to challenge the author of this home jacking.
The individual has therefore become “white”, a term which is not usual either in the Vaud police who is rather used to talking about the Caucasian type. “We finally opted for” white “so that people easily remember this characteristic appearing in the research notice,” says the cantonal police. She specifies that it broadcasts calls for witnesses “based on objective facts”, with concrete elements allowing to identify an alleged author.
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