A police officer died after a motorist refused to comply on the A8 near Mougins. The suspect is on the run.
A 54-year-old gendarme died on Monday, August 26 at around 8:40 p.m. after being hit by a motorist while refusing to comply at exit 42 of the A8 motorway near Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes), BFM Nice Côte d’Azur learned from concordant sources and the Grasse prosecutor’s office. “In cardio-respiratory arrest”, he died “despite the intervention of his comrades and emergency services”.
The driver who allegedly refused to comply is on the run and is driving a black BMW sedan, we learned, confirming information from Actu 17. The gendarmes are currently analyzing the video surveillance. The victim is a non-commissioned officer of the gendarmerie, a member of the Mandelieu-la-Napoule motorway squad deployed on a road check.
“Hit by a criminal, Warrant Officer Éric Comyn died this evening in Mougins. I share the deep sorrow of his family and his comrades in the Mandelieu-la-Napoule motorway squad. The Nation stands by their side and expresses its gratitude to the gendarmes who protect it,” wrote the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron on X on the night of Monday to Tuesday.
Major mobilization to find the suspect
A source close to the investigation told BFMTV that all the gendarmerie groups in the Alpes-Maritimes are mobilized to try to find the individual. Gendarmerie groups from other departments are also mobilized. A gendarmerie helicopter has been deployed.
Roadblocks are in place and neighbouring countries including Italy have been “sensitised”.
The mayor of Mougins and the constituency’s MP are present at the scene of the tragedy.
“The author of this refusal to comply, on the run, is actively sought. Our sadness is immense. Support for his family, his loved ones and his brothers in arms,” wrote the resigning Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanion on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
He said that the police officer was the father of two children aged 16 and 12 and that he had been “engaged for over 30 years as a non-commissioned officer in the gendarmerie”.
The Alpes-Maritimes MP Éric Ciotti shared on X his “immense emotion” and “his anger” after a tragedy which “recalls the immense courage of those who made it their profession to protect the French”.
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, also reacted on X, expressing his “deep sadness” and his “immense anger”, sending his thoughts to the victim’s relatives and colleagues, and believing that “everything must be done” to arrest the suspect.
Glenn Gillet, Nicolas Galup and Boris Kharlamoff
