Gendarme Eric Comyn killed in Mougins: what we know about the suspect and his arrest

Warrant officer Eric Comyn, gendarme in the Alpes-Maritimes, has é té youé by a reckless driver during a refusal to comply on the evening of Monday, August 26. The suspect was arrested and could have wanted to surrender after several hours of fleeing.

Eight hours of searching ended with an arrest. The driver of the vehicle that fatally hit a police officer during a refusal to comply in the Alpes-Maritimes on the evening of Monday, August 26, was arrested early in the morning on Tuesday. The man was arrested at Cannes according to the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who reacted to X. According to a source close to the investigation quoted by BFMTV the arrest took place around 4 a.m. “He is now answering for his heinous act and this voluntary homicide” indicated Bruno Bartoccetti, delegateé of the Unité in the southern zone, on the microphone of BFMTV.

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The individual suspected of being the driver responsible for the death of the police officer allegedly “presented himself at the police station” according to the union representative. But if the arrest did indeed take place, the suspect's intention to surrender has not yet been confirmed. According to Franceinfo, the individual was arrested in front of the police station, which suggests a possible desire to surrender. A major search operation was deployed during the night to find the individual who had committed a hit-and-run. All the gendarmerie groups in the Alpes-Maritimes were mobilized, supported by groups from neighboring departments and a helicopter.

It was around 8:40 p.m. on Monday evening when the suspect in a black BMW refused a police check at the exit of the A8 motorway, in the town of Mougins near Cannes. The driver continued on his way and violently hit a police officer, Warrant Officer Eric Comyn, a member of the motorized squad on duty and in charge of the check operation. The member of the police force has died.

An “exemplary sanction” after the death of the gendarme Eric Comyn

The gendarme hit by the hit-and-run driver and fatally injured was 54 years old. A husband and father of two children aged 12 and 16, he had been a member of the gendarmerie for over 30 years as a non-commissioned officer and had worked as a warrant officer in the Mandelieu-la-Napoule platoon in the Alpes-Maritimes since 2007. In addition to the press release of the Ministry of the Interior and the reaction of Gérald Darmanin who thanked the police for their mobilization.

Emmanuel Macron also sent his support to the family of Warrant Officer Eric Comyn in a message on X. “I share the deep sorrow of his family and his comrades in the Mandelieu-la-Napoule motorway platoon. The Nation stands by their side and expresses her gratitude to the gendarmes who protect her.

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Several politicians have spoken out on the death of the police officer caused by a hit-and-run individual. “Those who attack those who protect us must never know respite,” declared the resigning Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. The president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Renaud Muselier, believes that “the punishment must be exemplary and maximum against this killer!”

Latest updates

10:29 – Was the gendarme's homicide voluntary or involuntary ?

The suspect did indeed commit a refusal to comply and a hit-and-run during which he injured and killed a police officer, but the investigation and then the courts must determine “whether it was voluntary or involuntary,” declared Gérald Darmanin who adds that "in any case, it's a criminal act, it" is indisputable".

10:13 – The suspect "was going to surrender"

Arrested at 4 a.m., the suspect had been geolocated by telephone an hour before his arrest. The man was found near the police station. “From what I understand, he was going to go to the gendarmerie brigade,” added the Minister of the Interior.

09:59 – The suspect known to the police for violence, insults and traffic offenses

Gérald Darmanin indicated that the man was known to the police without being able to specify for what facts. According to information from BFMTV, the suspect distinguished himself for violence and insults against a person in authority public as well as for driving while intoxicated. The media adds that the individual has 9 points out of 12 on his driving license.

Interpelled Early in the morning of this Tuesday, the suspected man was arrested and killed. to be &agrav; the origin of the refusal to comply which was life &agrav; a gendarme was arrested; test positive &agrav; alcohol according to information from BFMTV.

09:43 – This is not the suspect's first refusal to comply

Among the various traffic offenses at the The suspect's assets include several refusals to comply, explained Gérald Darmanin, who insisted: “This is not the first “1st time”. The minister indicated not having the specific criminal convictions and only having the entries that the police and the gendarmerie have made on his record:  "&On several occasions, since “For a few years he was a traffic offender.”

The Minister of the Interior resigning president, Gérald Darmanin, guest of BFMTV, clarified the profile of the suspect arrested and suspected to be the cause of the death of gendarme Eric Comyn which occurred during a refusal to comply in Mougins, Monday evening . The individual is described as a 39-year-old man from Cape Verde “who is a foreigner “regular on national soil”. The man has a driving license, but is known for numerous traffic offenses.