The key facts

  • A driver from Merville clashed with police after helping a homeless man
  • In his complaint, he attached a frame from 'Tom and Jerry' showing the cat in a police uniform
  • The Toulouse prosecutor's office sent the case to court: hearing on November 13

A picture in a complaint turned into a criminal charge

In France, a driver from the southern town of Merville will face trial for attaching a frame from the Tom and Jerry cartoon series to a complaint. This was reported by La Dépêche, cited by Gazeta.Ru. The hearing is scheduled for November 13, and the man is charged with insulting law enforcement officers.

How the conflict began

According to La Dépêche, the incident occurred at around half past seven in the evening. A local driver was helping a homeless man — he planned to feed him and put him up for the night in a hotel. Two police officers approached them and asked what was going on: the officers suspected that the driver might be taking advantage of the homeless man's helpless situation. The driver was indignant, saying he simply wanted to help a person. The conversation escalated into an argument, and one of the officers demanded that they speak more quietly and threatened them with a fine.

The complaint and the police reaction

The next day, the man wrote a complaint to the town hall and the municipal police, attaching to the letter a frame from the 1975 cartoon series showing Tom and a white cat in police uniforms. The police did not appreciate the joke: they decided that the man had deliberately made a mockery of them and filed a report. The case reached the Toulouse prosecutor's office, which decided to send it to court.