William Molinié
06:17, September 18, 2024modified at
10:13 AM, September 18, 2024
On June 27, 2023, during a police check that he had refused in Nanterre, young Nahel Merzouk, driving a large rental car registered in Poland, was hit by a police officer’s gunfire and died on the spot. After a year of investigation, the version of the civil parties is denied. We had access to the investigation file, several thousand pages of proceedings.
It was a case that had set the powder keg alight in neighborhoods and cities all over France and had become a symbol brandished by the left to cry out against “systemic police violence.” But the investigation into the Nahel Merzouk case was closed this summer and the version of the civil parties has been denied.
A formal autopsy
Several untruths have been told based on videos of the scene lasting a few seconds, broadcast by witnesses on social networks. First, contrary to what the passengers of the car claim, the police did not hit Nahel Merzouk with the butt of their pistol. The autopsy is formal, there is no trace of blows.
The only two bruises are located on the right arm and were caused at least 18 hours before the young man’s death. Which is therefore incompatible with the account of the civil parties. They are also denied by the expert appraisal carried out on the vehicle. The 17-year-old minor did indeed restart the car voluntarily. Four successive actions were necessary.
Police officers who never changed their version
Nahel Merzouk pressed the start&stop button, then at the same time the brake pedal before putting the gear lever in “drive” mode and finally accelerating. This led to the deflection of the shot of the police officer whose elbow was resting on the windshield of the car. Throughout the investigation, the two police officers never changed their version.
The intention to kill is not apparent from reading the reports and expert reports. To this day, the police officer who fired remains under investigation for voluntary manslaughter. His colleague is an assisted witness for complicity in murder. The judges are expected to deliver their conclusions in the coming weeks.
