French Police Officer Who Killed Teenager Receives 4 Times The Donations Sent To Victim’s Family

International

oi-Deepika S

More than €1.6 million has been raised for the family of a French police officer who shot dead unarmed teenager Nahel Merzouk during a traffic stop in Paris last week, an act that sparked riots across the country. That is nearly four times the donations sent to victims family.

Following the shooting incident, two fundraisers were set up. One is to support the teen’s mother. The other is for the family of the police officer who shot him.

By Wednesday, a crowdfunding campaign for the policeman’s family reached €1.6 million, far outstripping the donations sent to Nahel’s family, which were at €400,000.

According to a CNN report, more than 85,000 people had donated to support the police officer, while just over 21,000 had donated to support Nahel.

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The fundraising campaign for the police officer was set up by French far-right media personality Jean Messiha who has worked with presidential candidates like Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour.

“This police officer is the victim of a national witch-hunt and it is a disgrace. The fundraising effort… is the symbol of a France that says no (to) this treachery, “Messiha tweeted.

The fundraising campaign has reflected the deep fractures running through French society.

Leftwing politicians have slammed the fundraiser as shameful while the far right has defended a police force.

“Jean Messiha is playing with fire,” said MP Eric Bothorel, part of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party. He termed the fundraiser indecent and scandalous.

The shooting incident

On June 27, a police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old, named Nahel in the Nanterre suburb.

It all started when the French Police spotted Nehal driving a Mercedes in a bus lane at 7:55 am on the outskirts of Paris. When they tried to stop him, Nehal disobeyed and committed many traffic offenses endangering the lives of pedestrians.

The police officers asked him to turn off the ignition but when he again attempted to escape, an office fired at close range through the driver’s window. The death was captured on camera, has raised questions about whether France has failed to move on since it was wracked by weeks of urban rioting in 2005. Nahel’s killing has put a spotlight on the alleged Police discrimination against minoritised communities in France.

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Since then, protests have spread to cities like Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, and Lille as well as Paris where Nahel was fatally shot.

The police officer has been charged with voluntary homicide and remanded in custody after the prosecutor in charge of the investigation said the legal conditions for using the weapon were not met.

The officer defended saying he had the right to fire his gun to protect himself, a colleague and other road users.