SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Probe after French police kill teenager who refused to stop

French authorities have launched a probe after police killed a teenager who refused to stop for a traffic check sparking a new debate over the readiness of security forces to pull the trigger.

Probe after French police kill teenager who refused to stop
A badge of police in western France. (Photo by FRED TANNEAU / AFP)

The 17-year-old was driving in the Paris suburb of Nanterre early on Tuesday when police shot him dead for refusing to stop for a traffic control after breaking road rules, prosecutors said.

Emergency services tried to resuscitate him at the scene but he died shortly afterwards.

A video circulating on social media, authenticated by AFP, shows two police officers stopping the vehicle and one pointing his weapon at the driver through the window and then firing at point blank when he drove off.

The car moved a few dozen metres before crashing.

The national police inspectorate the IGPN have opened an investigation into possible intentional killing by a person holding a position of public authority.

A separate probe is being carried out by regional police into the driver’s failure to halt and alleged attempt to kill a person holding a position of public authority.

Two other people were in the vehicle at the time. A first passenger fled, while the second, also a minor, was arrested and taken into custody.

Nanterre mayor Patrick Jarry said he was “shocked” by the video images and passed his “sincere condolences to the boy’s mother”.

“He hopes that the investigations opened (…) will make it possible to shed light as quickly as possible on the exact circumstances of this tragedy,” his office said.

In 2022, a record 13 deaths were recorded after refusals to stop for traffic controls. Five police officers have been charged in these cases.

Authorities and police unions blame the 2022 figures on more dangerous driving behaviour, but researchers also point to a 2017 law modifying the conditions of the use of their weapon by the police.

Two weeks ago, a 19-year-old was killed by a police officer he had injured in the legs with his car in the western town of Angouleme.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The head of France's top cinema institution Dominique Boutonnat denied sexually assaulting his godson as he went on trial Friday in a case that has led to calls for him to step down.

French cinema boss on trial for sexual assault

The trial comes as French cinema reels from a renewed #MeToo reckoning that has seen several big names, including acting legend Gerard Depardieu, accused of sexual abuse.

READ ALSO: French actor Gérard Depardieu to be tried for sexual assault in October

Activists have denounced Boutonnat’s continued leadership of the National Centre of Cinema (CNC), whose role includes overseeing measures to curb sexual violence in the industry.

His godson accuses him of trying to masturbate him during a holiday in Greece in 2020 when he was 19.

“I looked at him to find my godfather and that’s when I saw someone completely different… It was someone using me to masturbate,” the godson, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court.

Boutonnat responded in court that it was his godson who had initiated the situation and kissed him.

“I feel bad about leaving an ambiguous situation, but to say there was a sexual assault is false,” he told the court.

He was placed under investigation in February 2021 but still reappointed by the government as head of the CNC in July 2022.

Training to prevent abuse has in recent months become obligatory for films seeking public funding via the CNC.

The CNC told AFP that the case against Boutonnat came from “the private sphere” and had no relation to its activities.

SHOW COMMENTS