Overview
- The Defender of Rights, which published its decision Wednesday, asked the interior minister to start disciplinary proceedings against the officers involved.
- The watchdog said officers used two chokeholds and a belly-down restraint as Chouviat, still wearing a full-face helmet, repeated “I am suffocating” nine times on video.
- An autopsy found he died from asphyxia with a fractured larynx two days after the January 3, 2020 arrest in Paris.
- The criminal case now heading to court stems from a December 2024 order sending three of the four officers to trial for involuntary homicide with no date set, while the family seeks tougher charges and wants all four tried.
- The family’s lawyers said they will sue the state in administrative court over the lack of police discipline and will also file a claim over judicial delays, as the chokehold was dropped in July 2021 but belly-down restraint still lacks clear rules.