Deaths on the Pont-Neuf in Paris: police custody extended

Europe 1 with AFP 3:47 p.m., April 26, 2022

The police custody of the police officer who killed Sunday, by shooting at their car, two men suspected of having forced a check near the Pont-Neuf in Paris, was extended on Tuesday, AFP learned from the prosecution.

The policeman, member of a night support group within the Compagnie de Sécurisation de la Cité (CSC), has been questioned by the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) since Monday afternoon for "voluntary violence resulting in death without intention to give it".

He was the only armed police officer on the scene

His placement in police custody was decided "in particular because of the seriousness of the consequences of the shooting" and to "verify precisely the conditions of use of his weapon", the prosecution said on Monday.

According to the police intervention report consulted by AFP, a patrol of five police officers headed on Sunday shortly before midnight towards a car parked in the wrong direction, hazard lights on, Quai des Orfèvres on the island of La Quote, to control it.

As the police approached the front of the car, it started and "dashed towards one of the officials who moved away to avoid it", according to this report.

"The only" policeman armed with an assault rifle then opened fire on the vehicle which was heading for the Pont-Neuf where it ended its race after climbing on a median.

Two open investigations

According to the first elements of the investigation, a dozen cartridges were fired including "five or six impacts having reached the individuals".

The 25-year-old driver, found inert at the wheel and his front passenger, 31, discovered lying on the ground to the right of the car, died on the spot.

The two men are "unfavorably known, among other things for narcotics", according to a source familiar with the matter.

The rear passenger of the vehicle, aged 42, was injured in the arm and hospitalized.

He is unknown to the police, according to a police source.

The Paris prosecutor's office has opened two investigations: one for "attempted intentional homicide on a person holding public authority" and the second "for the head of intentional violence resulting in death without intention of giving it".

The investigations must determine the circumstances of the facts and establish whether the police officer acted in self-defence.

According to the police account, a taxi driver, who says he witnessed the whole scene, "confirmed the self-defense cited by the officials".

The four other police officers of the patrol were heard by the police on Monday