The police chief, who denied being present during the beatings, did acknowledge that when he arrived, the local CNDD-FDD representatives and the school director were present among the “crowd” that had carried out the arrests. He said he took no steps to identify or arrest the individuals who had beaten the detainees, claiming he was “new” to his job and unprepared to carry out on-the-spot investigations. However, he had been in his current position for a year and had been a police officer since 2005.[115]