Gendarme killed in Mougins: what the images of the collision reveal

After the placement in provisional detention of the suspect responsible for the death of the gendarme Eric Comyn after ;egrave;s a refusal to comply in the Alpes-Maritimes, surveillance camera images showing the drama was é revealed.

The man behind the refusal to comply that cost the life of police officer Eric Comyn was brought before the Grasse public prosecutor's office in the Alpes-Maritimes on Wednesday, August 28, before being charged and placed in pre-trial detention for “murder of a person in a position of public authority” and “refusal to comply”, announced the public prosecutor of Grasse in a press release. He now faces life imprisonment on the count, since the psychiatric examination allows the conclusion to be drawn that the suspect bears “full criminal responsibility”. The suspect spent more than a day in police custody, êt be heard by investigators on her hit and run and especially on the circumstances of the death of Warrant Officer Eric Comyn.

In front of investigators, the suspect assured that his action which led to the death of the police officer on Monday evening in Mougins was unintentional. “It results from the hearings of the accused that the latter claims to have hit the police officer unintentionally and, seized with panic, to have left the scene. He claims not to have seen the police officer on the roadway,” the prosecutor reported in his press release.

What happened

It was around 8:40 p.m. on the evening of Monday, August 26, when the suspect, driving 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 is deceased.

The suspect was arrested after an eight-hour search, near Cannes at around 4 a.m. The arrest took place near a police station when the wanted man, accompanied by his parents, seemed about to surrender. To find the suspect, all the gendarmerie groups in the Alpes-Maritimes were mobilized, supported by groups from neighboring departments and a helicopter.

What is the profile of the suspect ?

The resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, has specified the profile of the suspect arrested and suspected of being behind the death of gendarme Eric Comyn, which occurred during a refusal to comply in Mougins on Monday evening. The individual, whose identity has not yet been communicated, is described as a 39-year-old man from Cape Verde “who is a “foreigner legally on national soil”. The man has a driving license, but is known for numerous traffic offences. Described as a “traffic offender” by the minister, he has 10 convictions his criminal record since 2006 for various reasons: violence and insults, refusal to comply and hit and run, driving without a license, but also carrying a prohibited weapon and violence and insults against a person in public authority, rebellion and finally driving while intoxicated. After his arrest, the suspect tested positive for alcohol.

An “exemplary sanction” desired after the death of 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.

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 sanction must be exemplary, and maximum, against this killer!”

Latest updates

10:11 – New details on the images

In the CCTV footage, which Le Figaro has consulted, two gendarmes are standing on the right-hand side of the road and checking a driver's papers. Meanwhile, two other soldiers are moving forward in the middle of the road, the most forward of the two being Eric Comyn. He clearly shows his presence. With its headlights on, the sedan nevertheless drives into him. The warrant officer is thrown several meters and crashes to the ground. The car then leaves the camera's field of view.

08:54 – Did the suspect accelerate just before hitting the police officer ?

The CCTV footage further suggests that the vehicle did not slow down and may have even accelerated by swerving to the right. This is not the first such tragedy. “We are doing everything we can to protect ourselves and to carry out these checks safely. But unfortunately, we still have certain types of behaviour that injure around a hundred police officers each year or that will kill our comrades,” lamented Marie-Laure Pezant, spokesperson for the national gendarmerie, with BFMTV.

Images of the tragedy, authenticated by BFMTV, have been revealed. They show the driver who killed police officer Eric Comyn during a traffic stop on Monday, August 26. Everything happened in a matter of seconds. In the images, the police officers are wearing fluorescent vests, making them identifiable, and are carrying out checks when suddenly a sedan veers into the right lane and hits the police officer head-on. The car continues on its way.  "In these images, we do not have the impression that the vehicle is slowing down, quite the contrary: the trajectory remains fairly straight", suggesting more of an acceleration than a deceleration, according to Guillaume Farde, police-justice consultant for BFMTV. The suspect defended himself by claiming not to have seen the police officer and to have been "panicked". 

28/08/24 – 22:49 – Video surveillance images crucial in the investigation

They should shed a little more light on the tragedy that cost the life of Eric Comyn, a 54-year-old police officer, hit during a refusal to comply. The video surveillance cameras that filmed the events should serve as evidence in the case, while the suspect, a 39-year-old man and repeat offender for traffic violations, was indicted this Wednesday and placed in detention. The images show the unfolding of the incident of a completely ordinary traffic control. The police on the side of the road signal a black car to stop. Moving from the left lane to the right, before hitting Eric Comyn head-on and fleeing on the motorway.

Arrested by the police a few hours after being fatally hit by a police officer on the motorway, the man implicated in this case was charged with “murder of a person in a position of public authority” and “refusal to comply” and placed in provisional detention, reveals BFM Nice Côte-d'Azur. The man, a "road offender" multi-repeat offender had been test positive &agrav; alcohol after his arrest.

08/28/24 – 9:15 p.m. – The far right welcomes the "upsetting words" of the widow of Éric Comyn

Eric Comyn's widow had indicated her wish that her remarks not be used “for political purposes”. In the end, this is not the case. After her speech in Mandelieu-la-Napoule this Wednesday during which she indicated that France “had killed her husband”, Jordan Bardella, the leader of the National Rally, spoke of “upsetting words” on X. And to add: Let's stop tolerating those who ruin the lives of the French, let's expel foreign delinquents and criminals.” Present at the tribute ceremony, “Eacute;ric Ciotti for his part “evoked a “strong” and “powerful” statement from the “wife of “Eacute;ric Comyn. “We could feel ” “both his extraordinary courage and in this moment of immense emotion to make sure that it is useful,” he said. As for Eric Zemmour, the president of Reconquête, estimated on X that the words used “resonated with poignant accuracy” and castigated politicians, who through “their inadequacy and ideology, let French people die”.

08/28/24 – 7:51 PM – For Olivier Dartigolles, LFI leaders “have a political responsibility”

Two days after the death of “Eacute;ric Comyn, a police officer killed in the line of duty on the A8 motorway in Mougins, political columnist Olivier Dartigolles estimated that in the show We walk on our headsby Cyril Hanouna on Europe 1, that some leaders of La France Insoumise have “political responsibility” in this tragedy. “When you say “the police kill”, of course “that contributes to the climate”, he said.

08/28/24 – 4:22 PM – “France killed my husband”: Eric Comyn's wife's shocking speech

A tribute was paid to Eric Comyn, the police officer who died on Monday evening after being hit while refusing to comply, this Wednesday, August 28 in Mandelieu-le-Napoule, in the Alpes-Maritimes, where he had worked for many years. The soldier's widow spoke during the ceremony and gave a remarkable speech: “France has killed my husband by his inadequacy, his laxity and his excess of tolerance,” she launched in the preamble.

08/28/24- 3:59 PM – An “involuntary” gesture according to the suspect's defense

During his police custody, the man arrested after the death of the police officer in Mougins was heard by the police. During his hearings, he defended himself by explaining that he had “unintentionally” hit the police officer: “It appears from the hearings of the accused that the latter claims to have hit the police officer unintentionally and, in a panic, to have left the scene. He claims not to have seen the police officer on the roadway,” it is written in the press release from the prosecutor.

08/28/24 – 3:57 PM – Suspect found criminally responsible

The suspect underwent a psychiatric examination which concluded that “he was fully criminally responsible and eligible for criminal punishment,” the prosecutor added. Murder, the charge at this stage, is an “offense punishable by imprisonment” life sentenceéé", but refusal to comply 'also retained may also give rise to a criminal sanction against the suspect. "The prosecution will make requests for placement in provisional detention" the prosecutor also indicated.

After being held in police custody for more than a day and a half, the man who fatally injured gendarme Eric Comyn in Mougins must be brought before the Grasse public prosecutor's office with a view to “opening a judicial investigation into the charges of murder of a person in a position of public authority,” announced the Grasse prosecutor, Damien Savarzeix, in a press release published this Wednesday, August 28.

08/27/24- 10:21 p.m. – A kitty opened for the benefit of the family

The death of Eric Comyn, a police officer killed while refusing to comply on Monday evening, has caused a wave of shock. Many politicians have reacted after the tragedy, while the victim's colleagues are still in shock. Married and father of two children, the Alpes-Maritimes gendarmerie has indicated that it has opened a kitty for the benefit of Eric Comyn's family as a form of support. In an internal message, the gendarmerie also announced that, unlike “private” kitty collections, everyone has the opportunity to participate in this one during the next two months with a minimum donation of 10 euros. The entire amount will then be donated to the wife and children of the deceased. The management costs are “supported by the Fondation maison de la gendarmerie”, reports BFMTV Nice Côte d'-Azur.

08/27/24 – 8:45 p.m. – His colleagues mourn a “human, calm, composed, integrated” man

Killed during a refusal to comply with a Mougins on the A8 motorway, Eric Comyn's colleagues describe him as a “discreet, but extremely reliable and experienced policeman”, reports Nice-Matin. Appreciated by all his colleagues, Eric Comyn seemed to have unanimous approval. “He was very efficient and knew his job perfectly,” one of his brothers in arms explained to our colleagues. Second in command of the departmental security squadron road, Romain Pouilloux believes that “today, we lose a brother in arms, a friend, a father, a husband”. As for Warrant Officer Jérôme Juhel, also assigned to the motorized platoon like Eric Comyn, the latter said he was devastated by the death of his colleague, a man he describes as “very human, calm, composed, honest”.

08/27/24 – 7:08 PM – Who was Warrant Officer Eric Comyn hit by a hit-and-run driver in Mougins ?

The tragedy unfolded in the middle of the evening on the A8 motorway this Monday during a traffic check in Mougins. A police officer, Warrant Officer Eric Comyn, was fatally hit by a BMW during a traffic check which then fled the scene. In cardio-respiratory arrest, the victim died at a motorway service station despite the intervention of his colleagues present on the scene and emergency services. Questioned On RMC this Tuesday morning, the resigning Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin explained that the gendarme “died because he was doing his job to protect us and stop a reckless driver”. Aged 54, “Eacute;ric Comyn” was married and the father of two children, aged 12 and 16 respectively. Having been a non-commissioned officer in the gendarmerie for over 30 years, he worked in the motorized platoon of Mandelieu-la-Napoule since 2007, reports Le Figaro.

08/27/24 – 1:40 p.m. – The vehicle that mowed down the police officer found

The vehicle of the suspect suspected of being responsible for the death of police officer Eric Comyn has been found in a box in the town of Vallauris according to the Grasse judicial court. “The latter had traces of skidding on the hood” specifies the judicial source. Investigations are continuing, the prosecution reports.

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