Five Marseille police officers have been detained for questioning over the death of a 27-year-old man during rioting in the French city, reports The Guardian.
They were among 20 members of the elite Raid (Research, assistance, intervention, dissuasion) tactical unit questioned about injuries to Mohamed Bendriss during national unrest after the police shooting of a teenager in the Paris suburbs on 27 June during a traffic stop.
The public prosecutor suggested it was “probable” Bendriss had died after “a violent shock to the thorax caused by a ‘flash-ball’ type projectile”, a controversial police weapon, that caused him to go into cardiac arrest.
The centre of Marseille erupted in rioting and looting in late June and July, after the death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk in Paris.
Bendriss was reported to be riding his scooter in the city at the time of the riots. He was found dead after feeling unwell outside his mother’s house. A postmortem examination discovered traces of a chest injury believed to have been caused by the police weapon known in France as an LBD (lanceur de balle de défense) that fires large rubber bullets.
An inquiry has been opened into allegations of causing death by the “use or threat of a weapon”. A number of officers and civilians have also given evidence, the prosecutor added in a statement.
“Rioting and looting took place in the area that night but it is not possible to establish whether the victim was taking part or whether he was riding in that area,” the prosecutor said.