Gendarme killed in Mougins: what the suspect said during police custody and what he risks

The suspect responsible for the death of police officer Eric Comyn after refusing to comply in the Alpes-Maritimes will be brought before the Grasse prosecutor's office for “murder” on Wednesday. During his hearing, the man stated that he had “unintentionally” injured the police officer.

His police custody has been lifted. The man who was behind the refusal to comply that cost the life of gendarme Eric Comyn must be brought before the public prosecutor in Grasse, in the Alpes-Maritimes, this Wednesday, August 28, “with a view to opening a judicial investigation into the charges of murder of a person in a position of public authority,” announced the public prosecutor of Grasse in a press release. The suspect spent more than a day in police custody, being questioned by investigators about his hit-and-run and especially about 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 relates in his press release. The prosecution is still considering opening a judicial investigation for murder and will “request pretrial detention” against the suspect. The latter is liable to a criminal penalty, which could go as far as “life imprisonment” in view of the charge, since the psychiatric examination allows the conclusion of “full criminal responsibility” of the suspect.

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 sides and expresses his gratitude to the gendarmes who protect her.

https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1828202568096379012?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw[/embed ]

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, at against this killer!”

Latest updates

16:22 – “France killed my husband”: the shocking speech of Eric Comyn's wife

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.

15:59 – 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 questioned by the police. During his interviews, he defended himself by explaining that he had “unintentionally” hit the police officer: “It appears from the interviews 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. of the prosecutor.

15:57 – The suspect tried criminally responsible

The suspect underwent a psychiatric examination which concluded that he was “fully criminally responsible and eligible for a criminal sanction,” the prosecutor added. Murder, the charge retained at this stage, is an “offense punishable by life imprisonment,” 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 pretrial detention.” the prosecutor also indicated.

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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, honest” man

Killed during a refusal to comply in 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 policeman found

The vehicle of the suspect suspected of being responsible for the death of police officer Eric Comyn was found in a garage in the town of Vallauris according to the Grasse judicial court. “The latter had signs of skidding on the hood,” the judicial source said. The investigations are continuing, the prosecutor's office said.

08/27/24- 1:29 PM – 10 convictions in the suspect's criminal record

The suspect's profile and especially his criminal record are becoming clearer. Described as a “road offender” by the resigning Minister of the Interior, the man has 10 convictions on his criminal record, notably for “attacks on persons and road traffic offences”, reports the Grasse judicial court. BFMTV further specifies the suspect's offences: violence in 2006 and 2010, insults in 2009, refusal to comply and hit and run in 2012, driving without a licence in 2014, but also carrying a prohibited weapon and violence and insults against a person in authority. public in 2016 in addition to rebellion and violence still the same year and finally driving while intoxicated in 2023.

08/27/24 – 10:29 – Was the homicide of the police officer 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's indisputable”.

27/08/24 – 10:13 – The suspect "was 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.

08/27/24 – 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.

27/08/24 – 09:43 – This is not the suspect's first refusal to comply

Among the various The suspect's traffic offences include several refusals to comply, explained Gérald Darmanin, who insisted: “This “It's not the first time.” The minister indicated that he did not have the specific criminal convictions and only had the entries that the police and gendarmerie had made on his record: “”& ;On several occasions, for several years, he was a road offender.

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