Five French police officers were arrested on Tuesday, August 8, over the death of a 27-year-old man in the southern city of Marseille in early July during nationwide rioting, prosecutors said. The five police officers, all members of the elite Raid unit, were detained in Marseille for questioning in the probe over the death of Mohamed Bendriss, prosecutors said. Several civilians and police are also giving evidence as witnesses.
The incident took place during the night of July 1-2 during violent protests in the centre of Marseille sparked by the death of Nahel M, 17, who was shot dead by a policeman in Nanterre. France was rocked in late June and early July by violent rioting over the killing of a teenager by a policeman during a traffic check outside Paris on June 27. The riots were met by a forceful police response, with hundreds arrested and hundreds of police officers wounded.
Bendriss, a married father of one, whose widow is now expecting a second child, lost his life after feeling unwell while riding a scooter. His autopsy showed traces on his chest of what could be the impact of a blast ball (known in French as an LBD), an alternative and less lethal weapon commonly used by the country's riot police.
The investigation is the latest controversy to hit Marseille police. Earlier this summer, a 22-year-old man called Hedi had to have part of his skull removed after being beaten and fired on with an LBD on July 21 by a group of men suspected to be police officers.
Four Marseille police officers have been charged over the incident, of whom three have been released under judicial supervision. The fourth has been remanded in custody for the duration of the investigation and his detention has caused huge controversy within the French police forces. Officers across the country went on sick leave en masse in protest, but a court last week rejected the appeal against his detention.
The officer admitted in court to firing a blast ball round, reversing an earlier denial, but said he did not see anybody injured. His lawyer added that there was no proof that it was his round that had wounded Hedi. The powerful police union, Alliance, said the ruling was "incomprehensible and very unfair".