What we know about the suspect and his arrest

Eight hours of searching ended with an arrest. The driver of the vehicle that fatally hit a police officer during a refusal to comply in the Alpes-Maritimes on the evening of Monday, August 26, was arrested early in the morning on Tuesday. The man was arrested in Cannes according to the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who reacted on X. According to a source close to the investigation quoted by BFMTV The arrest took place around 4 a.m. “He is now answering for his heinous act and this voluntary homicide,” said Bruno Bartoccetti, delegate of the Unité union in the southern zone, speaking to BFMTV.

The individual suspected of being the driver responsible for the death of the police officer “presented himself at the police station” according to the union representative. But if the arrest did indeed take place, the suspect’s intention to surrender has not yet been confirmed. According to Franceinfothe individual was arrested in front of the police station, which suggests a possible desire to surrender. A major search operation was deployed during the night to find the hit-and-run individual. All the gendarmerie groups in the Alpes-Maritimes were mobilized, supported by groups from neighboring departments and a helicopter.

It was around 8:40 p.m. on Monday evening when the suspect in a black BMW refused a police check at the exit of the A8 motorway, in the town of Mougins near Cannes. The driver continued on his way and violently hit a police officer, Warrant Officer Éric Comyn, a member of the motorized platoon on duty and in charge of the check operation. The member of the police force died.

An “exemplary sanction” after the death of police officer Éric Comyn

The police officer hit by the hit-and-run driver and fatally injured was 54 years old. A husband and father of two children aged 12 and 16, he had been a member of the gendarmerie for over 30 years as a non-commissioned officer and had worked as a warrant officer in the Mandelieu-la-Napoule platoon in the Alpes-Maritimes since 2007. In addition to the press release from the Ministry of the Interior and the reaction of Gérald Darmanin who thanked the police for their mobilisation.

Emmanuel Macron also sent his support to the family of Warrant Officer Éric Comyn in a message on X. “I share the deep sorrow of his family and his comrades in the Mandelieu-la-Napoule motorway squad. The Nation stands by their side and expresses its gratitude to the gendarmes who protect it.”

Several politicians have spoken out about the death of the police officer caused by a hit-and-run driver. “Those who attack those who protect us must never know respite,” declared the resigning Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. The president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, Renaud Muselier, believes that “the punishment must be exemplary, and maximum, against this killer!”