VERSAILLES: A French policeman who shot and killed a teenager in 2023 outside Paris, sparking nationwide protests, will stand trial for violence that led to death, an appeals court said on Thursday.
The officer was initially to appear in a criminal court with a jury on the more serious charge of murdering Nahel Merzouk, 17, in the driving seat of a car on June 27, 2023. But his lawyer appealed.
The Versailles appeals court ruled that it had “not been established that Florian M had intended, at the moment of shooting, to take the driver’s life”. It said he should be tried on the lesser charge in a criminal court without a jury.
Mobile phone footage of an officer shooting Nahel inside a car during a traffic stop on a busy street went viral following the incident, sparking days of protests.
The police initially maintained that Nahel had driven his car at the officer. But this was contradicted by the video, which showed two officers standing by a stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at its driver.
Florian M was released from custody in November 2023 after five months in detention.
Few cases of alleged police brutality make it to criminal court in France, as most are dealt with internally.
France’s top court last month ruled against reopening an investigation into the 2016 death of a young black man in police custody, in a case that triggered national outcry. The family of Adama Traore, who died aged 24, has vowed to take the case to Europe’s top rights court. – AFP
