A police officer was fatally hit by a hit-and-run driver on Monday 26 August at around 9pm in Mougins, near Cannes. The driver, who had fled the scene and was being actively sought, was arrested during the night. The victim, a 54-year-old warrant officer from the Mandelieu-La Napoule motorised platoon, was married and the father of two children, aged 12 and 16.
Warrant Officer Eric Comyn also had northern origins, his parents being natives of Dunkirk. His father, André, lived for about twenty years in Coudekerque-Branche before joining the marine commandos. He continued his career in the Republican Guard and then in the gendarmerie. One of his last assignments took him to the South where he settled permanently, his son Eric also embracing a career as a gendarme.
The suspect known to justice
The resigning Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin clarified on Tuesday morning that the alleged driver was already known for “ numerous traffic offences, including refusals to comply “According to a press release from the Grasse public prosecutor’s office, the suspect, aged 39, has 10 convictions on his criminal record for “ traffic violations ” but also “ attacks on people ” The man tested positive for alcohol.
A tribute to Eric Comyn will be paid on Wednesday in Cannes, at 5 p.m., on the forecourt of the town hall.
