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France Detains Police Officers Over Killing

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

PARIS (Worthy News) – French authorities said Tuesday they had detained five police officers over the death of a young man during riots across France earlier this summer.

Delivery driver Mohamed Bendriss, 27, suffered a cardiac arrest amid rioting in Marseille on the night of July 1, investigators said.

The officers, who are from an elite riot control unit, were placed under investigation after an autopsy revealed Bendriss may have died after being hit by a weapon used by police.

It was thought the married father-of-one may have suffered a heart attack while riding his scooter after being hit by a flashball.

In a statement issued to French media, a lawyer representing his pregnant wife stressed he had not been involved in any violence and was an innocent bystander.

French prosecutors said a post-mortem investigation revealed marks on Bendriss’ chest which suggested he had been struck by a so-called flash-ball or LBD.

It happened as violent protests broke out in France after 17-year-old Nahel M was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in the Nanterre suburb of Paris on June 27.

MIGRANT BACKGROUND

Nahel M. was of Algerian and Moroccan descent, which protestors claimed was the police’ true reasoning in taking the deadly action.

French President Emmanuel Macron made clear he understood the frustration, but he condemned the protest violence.

Bendriss’ death would be the first confirmed fatality on the French mainland to have resulted from this summer’s disorder.

In French Guiana, a region of France on the north-east coast of South America, a 54-year-old was reportedly killed on June 29 after the Nahel M. protests spread there. Authorities claimed a stray bullet fired by rioters killed him.

However, Marseille’s police force had already been under scrutiny over its conduct during the national unrest after another man suffered life-changing injuries, also allegedly caused by a flashball.

A 22-year-old North African immigrant identified as Hedi was reportedly forced to have part of his skull amputated and lost the use of an eye.

Prosecutors said he was shot in the head with a flashball by police on 21 July. Media said four officers are under investigation over the incident, including a 35-year-old identified as Christophe, who has denied deliberately injuring the man.

In an unusual move, he was remanded in custody pending a trial. A tense calm has returned to the streets of France, but more social unrest is expected.