A 17-year-old motorist was killed on Tuesday morning in Nanterre by a police officer who fired his weapon after the minor refused to comply
- A 17-year-old motorist was killed Tuesday morning in Nanterre by a police officer who fired his weapon, after the minor refused to comply. The victim, Nahel M., died despite the intervention of the Samu who gave him cardiac massage on the spot.
- The facts took place around 8:30 a.m. near the Nanterre-Préfecture RER station, near Nelson-Mandela Square, behind the La Défense business district.
- The family of young Nahel will file a complaint, announced his lawyer Me Yassine Bouzrou, and the policeman suspected of having fired is currently in custody for “intentional homicide”.
A 17-year-old motorist was killed on Tuesday morning in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) by a police officer who used his weapon, after the young man, suspected of refusing to comply, rushed towards the police, learned from police sources, confirming information from AFP.
We look back on these events which took place between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., near the Nanterre-Préfecture RER station and while the police officer suspected of having fired is currently in police custody for “intentional homicide”.
What happened this morning in Nanterre?
A 17-year-old motorist was killed Tuesday morning in Nanterre by a police officer who fired his weapon after the minor refused to comply. The victim, Nahel M., died shortly after being hit, despite the intervention of the Samu who gave him a cardiac massage on the spot. According to the first elements of the investigation reported by police sources, it was between 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. that the driver of the vehicle, a Mercedes AMG which had been rented, committed several traffic violations. At the sight of police motorcyclists, he first stopped, before accelerating in their direction. An official then fired at the driver’s chest, according to the same sources.
The death of Nahel M. “was noted at 9:15 a.m. following at least one gunshot wound,” said the Nanterre prosecutor’s office. Two other people were in the vehicle: one of them, who remained in the back of the vehicle, was arrested, while the other fled and is still wanted by the police.
The 38-year-old policeman who shot the shot is “very shocked” by the tragedy, said police chief Laurent Nuñez on BFMTV.
What do we see in the video circulating on social networks?
Very early in the morning, a video of the event circulated on social networks. We see two police officers controlling a yellow car crossing François-Arago. One of them, standing, leaning on the windshield, is aiming at the driver with his pistol. When the driver restarts, the policeman shoots at point-blank range from the side of the vehicle. The car ended its race a few tens of metres further, embedded in a post.
The footage appears to undermine the law enforcement version. Initially, police sources had indeed claimed that the vehicle had run into the two police officers who were members of the territorial traffic and road safety company of 92 and that the latter had acted in self-defence.
Where is the investigation?
The Nanterre public prosecutor’s office indicated in the middle of the afternoon that it had opened two flagrant investigations, one for “refusal to comply” and “attempted intentional homicide on a person holding public authority “, entrusted to the Nanterre police station and the Territorial Security of 92, the other for “intentional homicide by a person holding public authority” entrusted to the IGPN (general inspectorate of the national police). Police officers also moved around Nelson-Mandela Square, behind the La Défense business district, in the middle of the morning.
An autopsy and additional examinations, particularly in terms of toxicology, have been ordered and must be carried out this Wednesday. The exploitation of the elements found on the spot, in the vehicle and of the various videos of the scene continues: “one of the police officers is currently in custody for intentional homicide. Screening operations for blood alcohol and narcotics consumption were carried out and proved to be negative.
Finally, if the police custody of the second identified passenger was lifted at the beginning of the afternoon after his hearing, the third, who fled, is still wanted.
Did the family of the deceased file a complaint?
The family of young Nahel M., who was already known to the courts, in particular for refusing to comply, announced, this Tuesday evening, to file a complaint through his lawyer Me Yassine Bouzrou. A complaint will be filed for “voluntary homicide” and another for “forgery in public writing”, because “the police lied by claiming that young Nahel’s vehicle had tried to hit them and commit homicide on their person”, denounced the lawyer.
“We will be filing a complaint for intentional homicide against the police officer who fired the shots in the coming days (…). The complaint will also target his colleague for complicity in intentional homicide”, also detailed Me Yassine Bouzou, in a press release, which also specifies that the family “reserves the right to prosecute all persons who invent non-existent mentions in the criminal record of the young man”, fakes having visibly circulated on social networks shortly after the tragedy.
What were the reactions?
The death of the young man provoked strong reactions within the left, with many political leaders having relayed the video of the shooting.
“Yes, a refusal to comply is against the law, but death is not part of the penalties provided for by the Penal Code”, tweeted the coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard. “A refusal to comply cannot be a death sentence. For no one. Never, ”added the elected EELV of Paris Sandrine Rousseau. “Refusing to comply does not give a license to kill. It is not a question of the electorate but of humanity and respect for the rule of law! “wrote the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure.
Questioned by BFM TV, Laurent Nunez, the prefect of police of Paris, recognized “a gesture which challenges him, which shocks him”, before giving some details on the conditions of the arrest: “They spotted a vehicle which had committed a number of offences, which they initially tried to control. This vehicle did not stop. After this first refusal to comply, he was stuck in the flow of traffic where there was an attempt to check by the two police officers. That’s when the driver, who had first turned off the engine, restarted the vehicle and then drove off. It was in this context that the policeman used his firearm”.
Questioned by EELV MP Sabrina Sebaihi during questions to the government on Tuesday afternoon, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin for his part indicated that he wanted to “respect the bereavement of families but also the presumption of innocence of the police”. “It is a tragedy that this young 17-year-old driver died as a result of this check, but in very many cases police officers and gendarmes died from refusing to comply (…) and these are families of police officers and gendarmes who mourn their children”
Two units of mobile forces, including members of the CRS 8 – specializing in the fight against urban violence – are deployed in Nanterre for the night, said the Ministry of the Interior, interviewed by AFP. Seven people were arrested in the early evening during tensions with the police deployed in the city.
Garbage fires, quickly brought under control, had been reported in the afternoon. In 2022, 13 deaths were recorded after refusals to comply during roadside checks, a record. Five police officers have been indicted in these cases, the others having been released without prosecution at this stage.
