Of the “Clumsiness, recklessness and negligence” committed by the police “they are at the origin of the death of Cédric Chouviat”according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. This 42-year-old delivery driver died of asphyxiation on January 3, 2020 in Paris, due to restraint maneuvers carried out by police officers after a stormy roadblock.
In his indictment, dated October 29, revealed by Mediapart and which the world According to what was obtained, the Public Ministry requests the referral to the criminal jurisdiction for involuntary manslaughter of three of the four police officers present during the arrest.
“This is a positive step, knowing that when it comes to police violence, prosecutions are rare”estimates Arié Alimi, one of the lawyers for Cédric Chouviat’s family. “But the family is surprised by a deeply absurd accusation that distorts the legal reality of the facts”denounces his colleague Vincent Brengarth. The two lawyers had written to the investigating judge to request that the officers be prosecuted for “intentional violence resulting in death without intention to cause it” and not for “involuntary manslaughter.”
A tense control phase
The prosecutor did not agree with the position of the civil parties, considering that the use of violence was “justified, necessary and proportionate, taking into account the opposition behavior of Cédric Chouviat”. And if the police are linked “directly after the death of Cédric Chouviat”are for“recklessness and [de] negligence constituting faults ».
The qualification preserved by the prosecution does not satisfy the defense lawyers either. For Laurent-Franck Liénard, lawyer for the main defendant, “The Prosecutor’s Office considers an error due to negligence, which would have consisted of detaining Mr. Chouviat without concern for his state of health. However, our client proceeded to handcuff a person who was struggling vigorously and for whom there was nothing to suggest he was in danger.”. The prosecution, however, did not request a trial for peacekeeper J., the fourth incriminated crew member.
On January 3, 2020, Cédric Chouviat was controlled by a team of four police officers while riding a scooter, with his phone in his hand, on 7th Street.my district of Paris. In its indictment, the prosecution mentions the first stages of control. “Cédric Chouviat had adopted a posture of insolence (…)to which the police responded in a relaxed manner, in a register of equality that sometimes bordered on familiarity”points out. So “The tension gradually increased (…)mainly after Cédric Chouviat began calling police officers “clowns” in response to mocking attitudes on their part.”. According to the General Inspection of the National Police, in charge of the investigation, this tense control phase “It lasted about eleven minutes.”.
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