The French press had access to the first results of the investigation into the shooting that Nahel received from the hands of a police officer on June 27. Florian M. told the court the timeline of events that led to the 17-year-old’s death and several nights of rioting in France.
newspapers the world And the Parisian revealed this Thursday, July 6, the version of the policeman identified as Florian M. and author of the shots that killed the young Nahel on Tuesday, June 27, during a roadside check.
The official appeared before the Versailles Court of Appeal, which decided to keep him in pre-trial detention despite the appeal lodged. He is charged with intentional homicide.
The officer explained that the day of the incident was “his ninth day in a row.” That morning, at 8 o’clock, Florian M. and his colleague saw a yellow Mercedes “circulating in the lane reserved for buses”. The two motorists approached the car and activated the siren, asking the driver and passengers to pull over for traffic control.
He says that at that point Nahel drove off “full speed”. About 100 yards away, Nahel’s car was stuck in traffic. Florian M. ran towards the driver and drew his pistol.
He placed it level with the windshield, holding it with his right hand and pointing it downward, aiming at Nahel’s lower body. His partner got into the driver’s window.
Florian M. reports shouting “Cut, cut” the engine (and not “pull”, as has been suggested). A second voice, possibly Nahel’s, then shouted, “Get away!” Another third voice, “which we could attribute” to the colleague of Florian M., then shouted: “You are going to be shot in the head”. The criminal research institute of the gendarmerie is still verifying this initial analysis of the situation.
“He destabilized the vehicle”
According the world the policeman claimed to have found himself “stuck against the sidewalk and the wall behind him”. He believed that the driver was going to accelerate and that his colleague was still partly inside the car. He then decided to open fire to prevent the driver from running over someone or “taking away” his partner. He later said he only hit his arm.
The policeman also said that “his initial objective was not to shoot” and that he was not looking “to aim for the upper body, but the lower”. But that at the time of the shot, “the acceleration of the vehicle unbalanced it”.
Immediately after the gunshot, “the video recorded five or six horns and a roar of the engine”. The autopsy revealed that the fatal shot went through the windshield and hit Nahel in the chest and wrist.
Reform the law of 2017?
This Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, was heard by the Senate Legal Affairs Committee, after several days of riots caused by the death of the teenager. The senators asked him how to avoid further riots.
Some have even questioned the law that has governed since 2017 the framework in which firearms can be used when a car or an individual resists arrest. “Just because a policeman broke the law doesn’t mean the law needs to be changed,” Darmanin said. “This policeman, who is entitled to the presumption of innocence, clearly did not respect the law.”
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
