Homicide at Morges station –
The Public Prosecutor’s Office upholds the police officer’s self-defense
The police officer who fatally shot Roger “Nzoy” Wilhelm in 2021 “acted in self-defense”, according to the Vaud Prosecutor’s Office.
Maximerutschmann
Published today at 6:47 p.m.
Nzoy’s death caused great emotion in Morges and in public opinion. Those around him never stopped demanding justice through activism.
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Self-defense, no omission to render aid and therefore case closed. This is the decision of the Vaud Public Prosecutor’s Office made official late Tuesday morning concerning the death of Roger Wilhelm. The 37-year-old from Zurich, nicknamed “Nzoy” by those close to him, died of gunfire from a police officer on August 30, 2021, on platform 4-5 of Morges station.
The drama has since changed in lively social debate against a backdrop of accusations of police violence and racial discrimination.
At the end of the investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office therefore issued an order on Monday to close the case and not to enter into the matter. He “considers, taking into account the circumstances, that the police officer found himself confronted with a serious attack and had neither the time nor other reasonably required means to ward off this knife attack other than by firing his firearm” .
The Morges regional police officer therefore acted “in accordance with professional practice” and “with the principle of proportionality”, which leads to self-defense being considered.
Furthermore, the Prosecutor’s Office considers that neither the police officer who fired the shots nor his three colleagues neglected their duty to help Roger Wilhelm, since they immediately took care of the injured man. “The autopsy report notes that the injuries caused by the third shot were necessarily fatal in the very short term, thus explaining the reasons for the death,” writes the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Complainants’ report consulted
The published press release specifies that “this decision is based on the various elements brought to light by the investigative acts ordered by the prosecutor or required by the parties (hearings, videos, autopsy, technical reports, in particular)”. And that the Border Forensics report, provided by the complaining party “was examined and partly used as part of the investigation”.
This decision of the Vaud Public Prosecutor’s Office can be appealed to the Cantonal Court within ten days.
Contacted on Tuesday afternoon, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Ludovic Tirelli, indicated that he was waiting for the green light from Roger Wilhelm’s family before speaking formally. In November 2023, he estimated his “conviction that a trial will take place” at “10 on a scale of 10”.
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