Cédric Chouviat
On January 3, 2020, in Paris, four police officers stopped Algerian Frenchman Cédric Chouviat to check his documents. During the stop, there was a conflict, as a result of which the police knocked Chouviat down. Chouviat was reportedly wearing a motorcycle helmet at the time of his arrest by the police and that his health condition worsened after being pinned to the ground. On January 5, 2020, he died in the hospital. From the video and audio materials of the case, it follows that lying on the ground, Cedric told the police at least seven times that he was suffocating. Law enforcement officials claim that they did not hear Cedric because of the street noise and the helmet worn by the victim.
The event caused a public outcry. In January 2021, relatives of French police brutality victims held a rally against the recent detention rules law, which has been increasingly criticized by the public lately. The video preview of the rally showed Shuvia’s face with the caption “I was killed by four policemen. I died on January 5, 2020, and they are still working for the police. “
For more than a year, lawyers for the deceased’s family have been trying through the courts to obtain a fair punishment for police officers who have exceeded their official powers. Three police officers were suspended on charges of causing death by negligence, and a fourth police officer was recorded as a witness and was not charged. On January 3, 2021, a demonstration was held in Paris in memory of Shuvia, at which his family announced that lawyers were trying to get a fourth policeman removed.
MASS MEDIA ABOUT THE CASE:
Questioned by the judges in July, the police disputed having perceived the “obvious signs” of the asphyxiation of Mr. Chouviat ensuring that they would have reacted if they had heard his last words, “I am suffocating”.
A first autopsy report had noted in Mr. Chouviat asphyxia with “fracture of the larynx” as well as “a previous cardiovascular state”, raising questions for the defense of the police officers on the possibility that this last element could play a role in the death of the delivery man in a context of “intense stress”.
The scene could be reconstructed by an expert after the analysis of 13 videos filmed with smartphones by the delivery man – equipped with a microphone under his helmet -, one of the police officers and a witness.
CASE STATUS:
The FBI initiative group requested clarifications on the current case from Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen, Minister of Justice Eric Dupont-Moretti and French Prime Minister Jean Casteks. The initiative group considers it important to combat police violence and, if necessary, can provide legal and informational assistance to the Shuvia family.
