Death of Amadou Koumé in 2015: three police officers sent to trial for “manslaughter” – Actu17

Three police officers were referred to the criminal court for “manslaughter” after the death of Amadou Koumé, 33, in Paris in March 2015. This man with the imposing size was arrested using a key of strangulation, in front of a bar in the 10th arrondissement. He died at the police station.

The examining magistrate in charge of the case of the death of Amadou Koumé on March 6, 2015, called in her order on Tuesday, the referral to the criminal court of three police officers for “manslaughter”. The magistrate evokes “Lack of discernment” officials who kept this 33-year-old man on the ground for more than six minutes, on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back, in the “Hideout” bar located near the Gare du Nord in Paris (Xe), while ‘he “No longer presented any danger to others”. The death of this father of two children was declared at the police station, where he was taken on the night of March 5 to 6, 2015.

The final medical examination concluded that Amadou Koumé had died following a ” pulmonary edema “ caused by “The association of slow mechanical asphyxia and cocaine intoxication”, adding that “Cervical and laryngeal trauma” driven by a choke key had “Participated in the occurrence of this asphyxia”, also “Favored” by its immobilization on the ground. At the time of the facts, Amadou Koumé who measured 1.90m for 107 kg had consumed drugs, but “The death could have taken place without impregnation of cocaine and only because of a slow mechanical asphyxiation” we specify in the order for reference.

The night of the tragedy, the bar staff had called the police around 11:30 pm because the thirty-something had an agitated and threatening attitude. He was probably the victim of a psychotic crisis. The first police crew to respond failed to subdue the suspect. A police officer from the anti-crime brigade (BAC) then decided to practice a choke key. The official was indicted in this case for “willful violence resulting in death without intention of giving it”. The judge considered that the violence, carried out without ” the intention “ of ” to injure “, had “Not been committed illegitimately”. But the magistrate accuses the three police officers of not having checked the state of health of Amadou Koumé, believing that they are responsible for “Negligence” which led to his death.

The prosecution had estimated in its indictment on July 8, that the force used by the author of the strangulation “Must be considered legitimate and justified” in the context of the interpellation, marked by the“Extreme resistance” by Amadou Koumé.

“We should have checked his state of consciousness”

“He should have been put in the side safety position in the bar and his state of consciousness should have been checked, both in the bar and in the bus. As a senior officer, I take responsibility for what happened ”, had declared one of the police officers, major, in front of the investigating magistrate indicates The Parisian. “I positioned my right forearm at his neck. I did the strangulation technique that I learned in police academy ”, detailed the policeman who made this key, reports The Express. The agent, who indicated that he had been prescribed 15 days of ITT (total incapacity for work) following the blows received during the intervention, repeated his technical gesture a second time since Amadou Koumé “Continued to stir”.

The thirty-something was uneasy at the police station of the 10th arrondissement where he was transported. The police called on the SAMU, which failed to revive him.

A first investigation closed without follow-up

The first investigation entrusted to the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) was dismissed. Amadou Koumé’s family then lodged a complaint with the prosecution, becoming a civil party. An examining magistrate was then appointed, leading to the indictment of the police officer behind the strangulation key, after ten months of investigation.