An electric pulse pistol. (Illustration) - Finbarr Webster / Shutter / SIPA

The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) was seized after the use by a police officer of an electric pulse pistol which resulted in serious burns on a person during a judicial seizure near Caen last Friday, a we learned from the prosecution on Wednesday.

On the arrival of a bailiff accompanied by police officers in view of a seizure, a man had sprayed himself with gasoline and threatened to set it on fire with a lighter in Saint-Contest in the outskirts of Caen, according to the authorities. local media. One of the policemen, according to witnesses, used an electric pulse pistol, apparently with the intention of stopping the man in his project, and the man ignited. Seriously burned, he has since been hospitalized.

"The use of the taser […] could have triggered the conflagration"

“It appears that, with the intention of preventing a fatal act, the action of the police services may have contributed, unfortunately, to the dramatic result that followed. Indeed, the use of the taser in an atmosphere impregnated with hydrocarbon could trigger the conflagration ”, develops the press release. "It has not been established, at this stage, that a criminal offense has been committed, and an administrative investigation will necessarily have to be carried out," continued the statement from the prosecutor of Caen, Amélie Cladière.

“In the meantime, I decided to enter the IGPN. The procedure in search of the causes of injuries will therefore be transmitted to the prosecution and the investigation will continue in a second step under the qualification of unintentional injuries, ”concludes the prosecutor.

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  • IGPN
  • Taser
  • Police
  • Caen
  • Miscellaneous