French policeman charged in fatal shooting

After the policewoman was detained on Sunday, she was “presented to an investigating judge” and “charged with intentional manslaughter,” said state prosecutor Gauthier Poupeau.

“The policewoman was placed under strict judicial supervision,” which prohibited her from traveling and working as an officer, he added.

Last year, France was rocked by violent riots following the murder of a teenager near Paris by a policeman during a traffic stop.

On Sunday, the young man killed was one of three people in a car when police tried to stop them for speeding near Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, said another prosecutor, Pierre-Yves Marot.

The driver “failed to comply with warnings”, refused to stop and accelerated before being forced to stop by a second police car.

All three occupants of the vehicle tried to escape.

One person fled and the other was arrested and charged with robbery after a vehicle was reported stolen.

“The third person, a 19-year-old from Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, was confronted by officers of the second patrol and hit one of them while trying to escape,” the prosecutor’s office said.

“The officer then deployed his Taser,” while his colleague drew and “used her service weapon, striking him fatally in the chest.”

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