A few dozen protesters and anti-racist placards greeted the opening of the appeal trial of six Lausanne police officers on Monday morning. Acquitted at first instance a year ago, they are suspected of causing the death of Mike Ben Peter, a 39-year-old Nigerian, following a violent arrest in 2018.
Inside the cantonal court in Renens, however, the debates began gently, since the entire morning was devoted to the introductory submissions, namely the possible requests of the parties before the trial actually begins. On this occasion, Me Simon Ntah, lawyer for the deceased’s family, requested several things: that new charges be retained, that new experts be heard and that the trial be postponed.
In the end, all of her requests were dismissed by the Court, with one exception. The judges agreed to examine the case also from the angle of abuse of power, which had not been the case until now. Subsequently, a witness to the fatal arrest was questioned. “When I saw six people attacking this man, who was screaming in pain, I wanted to intervene. But I did nothing, because they were police officers,” explained this young teacher.
In the late afternoon, Mike Ben Peter’s widow and brother also had the opportunity to speak. The woman, who was pregnant when her husband died, stressed that her youngest child is having a hard time growing up without his father. The little boy is reportedly regularly monitored by school psychologists in Spain, his country of residence. Finally, both the mother and his brother-in-law, very disappointed after the first trial, demanded that justice be done, so that “Mike can rest in peace.”
