A French police officer is under investigation after a 19-year-old man was allegedly shot dead while fleeing a traffic stop for speeding, according to prosecutors.
The incident occurred near Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in Normandy, western France, late Sunday. The state prosecutor, Pierre-Yves Marot, stated that the victim was one of three individuals in the car when police attempted to stop them.
Despite police efforts, the driver allegedly refused to halt and continued driving until a second police car intercepted them. All three occupants then attempted to escape on foot.
One of the occupants managed to escape, another was detained, and the 19-year-old was allegedly shot in the chest by an officer. The victim’s identity has not been disclosed.
According to the prosecutor, the 19-year-old from Cherbourg-en-Cotentin collided with one of the officers while trying to flee. “The officer then used a stun gun,” the prosecutor stated, while a colleague “used her service weapon, fatally striking him in the chest.”
The officer involved is being questioned by the internal affairs department of the police regulator IGPN.
This incident comes nearly a year after widespread riots erupted across France following the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. In that case, a police officer was charged with homicide.