Fatal refusal to stop in Margny-lès-Compiègne: municipal police officer charged with causing death by dangerous driving
A municipal police officer in Oise has been charged following a fatal chase on 21 August in Bienville. The driver of the fleeing vehicle was killed instantly.
Fatal chase in Oise: municipal police officer charged
According to Google News FR — Crime (fr), a municipal police officer in Oise has been charged following a refusal to stop that resulted in the death of a driver in the night of Friday 21 August.
Around 23:25, two municipal police officers attempted to stop a vehicle carrying two men in Margny-lès-Compiègne. The driver refused to stop and fled, "committing several traffic code violations", according to the Compiègne prosecutor's office. A few kilometres further on, in Bienville, the car was involved in an accident: the driver was killed instantly, his passenger slightly injured.
The charging of one of the two municipal police officers was confirmed on Monday by the Compiègne prosecutor's office, as was his placement under judicial supervision. Prosecutor Caroline Gaziot stated in a statement that "the initial elements from the investigation currently allow for the charging of the driver of the municipal police vehicle". However, the precise circumstances of the accident and death remain to be clarified, she stressed.
The police officer is to be presented to the Compiègne prosecutor's office "with a view to opening a judicial enquiry on the charge of causing death by dangerous driving". His breath test came back "negative", Caroline Gaziot specified.
The two officers had initially been interviewed as witnesses before being placed in custody on Saturday, "to be questioned about the circumstances of the stop and the management of the crashed vehicle". The custody of the second police officer, a passenger during the operation, was lifted on Sunday without charges. That of the passenger of the fleeing vehicle, who was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, was also lifted without further action.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)