A 17-year-old young man was killed by police fire after refusing to comply with orders from the police on Tuesday in Nanterre, in the Paris suburbs.
According to the police version, a motorcycle officer from the Department of Public Order and Traffic (DOPC) of the Paris police headquarters allegedly fired while the young motorist ran over him.
But, a video of the incident circulating on Twitter, shortly after the tragedy, shows another reality. We see two police officers checking a car. One of them, standing, leaning on the windshield, takes aim at the driver with his pistol and shoots at point-blank range from the side of the vehicle when the driver drives off. The car ends its race a few tens of meters further, embedded in a post.
In cardiorespiratory arrest, the 17-year-old victim could not be resuscitated by the Samu. Another minor was arrested while another passenger fled, according to the Nanterre prosecutor’s office.
The public prosecutor’s office indicated that it had opened two investigations in the act, one for refusal to comply and attempted intentional homicide of a person holding public authority, the other for intentional homicide by a person holding public authority entrusted to the IGPN (General Inspectorate of the National Police).
Saying he was “upset” by the tragedy and “shocked” by the video of the incident, the mayor of Nanterre called for “restraint and dignity, despite the legitimate emotion aroused by this tragedy”.
According to Le Parisien, 13 people died after refusing to comply during roadside checks in 2022, which represents a record.
Five police officers have been indicted in connection with these investigations. The other officials involved have been released without prosecution at this stage, the daily adds.