The police custody of Florian M., the police officer who shot Nahel M., will continue, Wednesday June 28, 2023 in the night. Suspected of intentional homicide, he is the subject of an investigation by the IGPN. This experienced policeman has been praised several times.
[Mis à jour le 28 juin 2023 à 20h52] The police custody of Florian M, suspected of intentional homicide and targeted by an investigation by the General Inspectorate of the National Police, will continue Wednesday night, June 28. He is the policeman who opened fire and caused Nahel’s death on Tuesday, June 27, during a police check. During the first 24 hours of his police custody, he assured the investigators that he had “acted in a state of self-defense”, reports THE Parisian. However, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office indicated that the opening of a judicial investigation on Thursday June 29 is “envisaged”. Indeed, according to videos shared on social networks and analyzed for the investigation, another version of the facts is possible.
The images and videos of the police check that led to the death of Nahel M. show that the intervention of Florian M. and his colleague was “manifestly not in accordance with the legislation and the ethics of the national police” , said the Minister of the Interior. Wednesday, June 28, Gérald Darmanin, announced that “sanctions will be taken”. The police officer remains presumed innocent until the court renders a decision.
The identity of the policeman revealed on the networks
Videos filming the police intervention and the fatal shot carried by a police officer against Nahel M. quickly circulated on social networks, but they are not the only ones. Between June 27 and 28, videos revealing the identity of the police officer in custody, Florian M., were released. A fact which is moved on European 1 the spokesperson for the Independent Union of Police Commissioners, Mathieu Valet. According to him, “a vendetta has been organized against this policeman” and “a judicial inquiry has been opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office”.
“Experienced”, rewarded … The profile of Florian M., the policeman who fired the shot
The prefect of police of Paris, Laurent Nuñez, indicated on BFMTV that Florian M., the police officer responsible for the shooting was “38 years old” and was “himself very shocked by this tragedy”. His “state of service does not call for observation”, he added, saying however “challenged by this gesture”. The Nanterre public prosecutor’s office specified in a press release that “the blood alcohol screening operations and the consumption of narcotic products were carried out and proved to be negative” when he was taken into custody.
The Minister of the Interior clarified the profile of Florian M. on the morning of June 28, describing an “experienced” police officer who “had no difficulties in his administrative files”. The official would have been free from any missteps until Nahel’s death according to his colleagues. During his career, he received eight letters of congratulations for his acts of service as well as a Homeland Security medal, specifies The Parisian. This biker from the Paris police headquarters is described by his colleagues as someone “calm” and “irreproachable” on a professional and human level, reports franceinfo. He was decorated three times, notably by Didier Lallement, the former prefect of Paris, for an act of courage and dedication during the movement of yellow vests.
What we know about the facts
It was around 8:20 a.m. when two police officers tried to control a Mercedes vehicle. The driver is then suspected of multiplying traffic violations while driving a rental car. On the video from a witness, it was noted that the vehicle was on, but stationary at Avenue Frédéric-et-Irène-Jolio-Curie. A peace officer takes aim at the driver. He is glued to his colleague and located on the side of the vehicle and not in the front as the police version indicated.
When the Mercedes tries to flee from control, the police officer opens fire. The car escaped for a few tens of meters before ending up in a post. Despite the arrival of help, the 17-year-old young man was quickly pronounced dead.
Why is the police officer in custody?
One of the two investigations opened by the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office led to the police officer responsible for the fatal shot being taken into custody: that for intentional homicide by a person holding public authority. Interviewed on France infoMaître Jennifer Cambla, one of the lawyers for the family of the young man killed, declared that the family wanted to file a complaint for “false public writing” and for “complicity” against the second police officer present during the events.
“When we watch the video, it seems that he pronounces the words ‘Shoot it’. This would constitute acts of complicity”, according to master Cambla to explain this accusation of complicity. The lawyer also regretted that “this police custody came late since he was placed in police custody in the afternoon for events that took place at 8:30 a.m. He was able to come to an agreement with his colleague. There may have been a disappearance of evidence, or pressure on witnesses.”
This custody would have been controlled by several deputies of the Nupes. In a tweet, Ségolène Amiot (MP for Loire-Atlantique) has published several videos at the Nanterre police station where we can see the presence of Thomas Portes (MP for Seine-Saint-Denis), Sabrina Sabaihi (MP for Hauts-de-Seine), Antoine Léaument (MP for Essone) and Louis Boyard (MP for Val-de-Marne) in the premises where the police officer is in custody. MP Amiot explains that they were present “to exercise our right to control places of deprivation of liberty”.