Meet the Malaga inspector in charge of Spanish police presence at Paris Olympic Games

Jorge Domínguez is the head of the command team and is coordinating 150 mounted police, the air unit and the foreigners' department

Laura Velasco

Granada

Friday, 2 August 2024, 11:56

A large Spanish National Police operation is watching over the safety of thousands of athletes and spectators who are in Paris not only to enjoy the Olympic Games, but also the beauty and iconic monuments in the city.

There are a total of 150 officers and at the head of the team - only Inspector Iván Vizcay is above him - is a policeman from the Granada provincial police force.

His name is Jorge Domínguez Campos, he is 33 years old and comes from Malaga. He has plenty of experience in major events: less than a month ago he took part in the security arrangements for the European Football Championship.

In Granada, where he has been working for the last month, he is head of one of the groups of the Police Intervention Unit (UIP). In Paris, his work goes much further. He is coordinating a large group of police officers from all over Spain.

They belong to different areas: mounted police, air and canine units. There are also specialists in providing security at sporting events and professionals from the foreigners' department, who patrol the border and airports. "There were many more volunteers than places, so one of the criteria for coming was language, you had to speak French or English. Some know more, like Russian or German," Domínguez told Ideal, SUR's sister newspaper in Granada. Most of them have experience from previous international missions.

They arrived on Thursday 25 July and will return on 12 August, when the games are over. The move to France was a complex one, considering that dogs, horses and their shoes, food for the animals and veterinarians, among other things, had to be transported. "It was a logistical challenge, but it worked out very well," Domínguez said. France covered the travel, accommodation and food costs for the officers.

The ceremony, the key day

The key day was the opening ceremony last Friday, with a six-kilometre journey along the Seine for all the delegations. "It was the most important event in the history of Paris and it was the first time that this open-air route had ever taken place. There were 350,000 people in attendance and our officers were deployed throughout the city, while Inspector Iván Vizcay and I controlled the route with monitors from the coordination centre, located at the Spanish Embassy," he added. Everything went swimmingly.

According to the Malaga police officer, France asked Spain to collaborate in security matters. As has been demonstrated over the last few days, they have full confidence in our country. The air unit, who have state-of-the-art equipment, are currently flying the drones at the most significant points including above the Eiffel Tower. "France has proven their high level and they are working long days," he said. There are also police forces from countries such as the USA, Brazil and Ecuador, but with far fewer officers.

Arrests and reports

The inspector insists that their presence in the neighbouring country is more than justified and they operate almost as if they were in Spain. France has authorised them to use weapons and they are also on patrol in more remote areas of the city. In fact, they have arrested several people in recent days and have drawn up reports of drug use.

"They are assigned to different police stations and are under the command of a Parisian chief," said Jorge Domínguez, who will return to Spain in ten days, along with the rest of the police, to enjoy a well-deserved holiday.

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