Tragedy in Nanterre
On Tuesday, June 27th, a tragedy occurred. Nahel, a 17 year old young man, died. He was driving a car in Nanterre without a driving license, and during a control he was killed by a policeman after refusing to comply. Unbearable images were revealed and numerous riots occurred all over France.
The Policeman’s Version of Events
The policeman, on the other hand, is being charged with voluntary homicide and has been incarcerated in the Santé prison in Paris. Le Parisien has just revealed a report of the statements made in the police custody of the 38 year old brigadier. According to Florian M.’s words, a few hours after the events and after undergoing a psychiatric examination, he did not want to kill the young adolescent. He was on his 9th consecutive day of work and that day, early in the morning, with his colleague, he spotted a Mercedes “whose engine was humming and which was driving in the bus lane”. On their motorcycle, they then approached the car, turned on their flashing lights and asked the driver and the two passengers to pull over to proceed with a control. Nahel then drove off “at full speed”. According to Florian M.’s colleague, Nahel would have gone up to 80 or 100 km/h. Finally, the police found the car blocked in traffic jams. Florian M. positioned himself at the level of the windshield and took out his gun. He then put himself in “staking fire” – this is a shot for which the bullet must necessarily be embedded in the ground at a very short distance. He then shouted at Nahel to turn off the engine and tapped several times against the windshield to “attract the driver’s attention”.
The Outcome of the Tragedy
That’s where everything went wrong. Florian M. was at that moment convinced to see his colleague pass “the top of his body into the cabin, presumably to try to control the driver or to try to press the stop button of the contact” and he claims to have had the impression that Nahel “had made the vehicle go forward and backward”. Florian M., “a little pushed”, felt endangered and feared for his colleague that the adolescent would take him with him in his escape. That’s when he shot. As Le Parisien explains, the colleague explained that he only had his arm in the Mercedes and that Nahel had indeed, after 10 to 15 seconds, cut off the engine of the vehicle. “The teenager would then have put his hand back on the steering wheel and activated the gear lever of his car,” then continues the daily. And he continues: “Florian M.’s colleague had then also feared being crushed against the wall. On the other hand, he does not comment on the legality of the shot of his colleague, having not seen him act since his attention was focused on Nahel.” Another important statement, the policeman responsible for the shot claims never to have uttered the phrase “you’re going to get a bullet in your head” as reported by witnesses.
