In a rare occurrence where officers are facing criminal charges for on-duty violence, three police officers were charged on Thursday in connection with the death of a 27-year-old man during nationwide riots that occurred in the southern French city of Marseille in early July, as stated by prosecutors.
Five officers were taken into custody regarding this incident on Tuesday, but two of them were quickly released.
France experienced intense rioting last month due to the killing of a 17-year-old in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. The teenager was shot and killed by a policeman during a traffic check when he attempted to flee and did not comply with an order to stop his car.
These riots resulted in a strong police response, leading to the arrest of hundreds of people, and several police officers sustained injuries.
The 27-year-old victim, identified as Bendriss, was a married man and a father of one. His widow is now pregnant with their second child. Reports indicate that Bendriss fell ill while riding a scooter, which eventually led to his death.
The postmortem examination revealed marks on his chest that may have resulted from an impact of a shot from a blast ball, known in French as an LBD, a projectile commonly used by the French police.
Prosecutors have stated that it is “probable” that the man’s death was caused by a “violent impact to the thorax caused by the firing of a projectile of the blast ball type.”
The three officers will be charged with “armed violence unintentionally causing death.”
However, the prosecutor’s office also noted the possibility that the victim might have been involved in looting a shoe store in the city. There were indications that Bendriss was connected to theft from the store and was being pursued by the police as he rode his scooter away.
As he continued riding on the pavement, further away from the police, he was struck by one shot, and another was launched by the police.
According to prosecutors, he continued to ride his scooter but later experienced cardio-respiratory arrest and died.
This investigation adds to the controversies surrounding the Marseille police. A previous incident involved a 22-year-old named Hedi, who had part of his skull amputated after being beaten and shot with an LBD on July 21 by a group suspected to be police officers.
Four Marseille police officers were charged in relation to that incident, while three others were released under judicial supervision. One officer was remanded in custody during the probe, leading to significant controversy within the French police.
In response, officers across the country took sick leave to stage a demonstration, but a court last week rejected the appeal against his detention.
During the court proceedings, the officer admitted to firing a blast ball round, reversing an earlier denial. However, he claimed not to have witnessed anyone sustaining injuries. His lawyer added that there was no evidence proving that it was his round that had wounded Hedi.
The powerful police union, Alliance, deemed the ruling “incomprehensible and very unfair.”
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