Fatal refusal to comply in Chelles: "no collision" with police car, according to the prosecutor

Europe 1 with AFP // Photo credit: JEFF PACHOUD / AFP 15:50 p.m., December 10, 2023

The death of a 17-year-old teenager on a scooter after a chase in Seine-et-Marne is probably not the result of a collision with a police car, according to the first elements of the investigation from the viewing of a video, the public prosecutor of Meaux said on Sunday.

The driver's prognosis "always reserved at this hour"

"After this first examination, it does not appear to me that the loss of control of the scooter was caused by a collision between the vehicle of the BAC (anti-crime brigade, editor's note) and the scooter: I do not see any impact on this recording," said Jean-Baptiste Bladier at a press conference at midday. The driver of the crashed two-wheeler, also 17 years old, who refused to stop on the orders of the BAC crew, was still hospitalized on Sunday, with "his vital prognosis still reserved at this hour," the magistrate said.

Around 23 p.m. on Friday, a crew from the BAC of Neuilly-sur-Marne (Seine-Saint-Denis) tried to control this two-wheeler which had just run a red light, according to information transmitted Saturday evening by the Meaux prosecutor's office. Arriving in Chelles (Seine-et-Marnes), two kilometers away, "the driver tried to brake, but in my opinion too late," the prosecutor said on Sunday, adding that the scooter was traveling "at a very high speed" on "a very wet road."

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"You can literally see the vehicle slipping away from under the feet of its occupants. After that, things go extremely fast," added Jean-Baptiste Bladier, "the bodies will slide and get embedded under a vehicle" that was at a red light. "The police arrived to help and then, very quickly, the fire brigade and the Samu were engaged," the prosecutor said. The Meaux prosecutor's office has opened two investigations, according to the prosecutor.

The first, for refusal to comply, was entrusted to the police station of Chelles-Villeparisis. The second, charges of manslaughter and unintentional injury, is being conducted by the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN), the "police of police". An autopsy of the scooter passenger's body was ordered by the prosecutor. The police officers involved in this chase "for the moment are not in custody, they have been the subject of a first hearing" and "will be re-interviewed in more depth after the exploitation of the technical elements which is currently underway", the magistrate said.