A 29-year-old man was killed by a municipal police officer in the early hours of Wednesday, July 15, in Vedène, near Avignon (Vaucluse), after refusing to stop for police. According to the Avignon prosecutor's office, the driver refused to submit to a traffic stop around 2:30 a.m. before being apprehended by the Pontet municipal police. His escape ended at the Avignon Nord interchange, where a second patrol arrived to assist.
According to initial findings of the investigation, the driver allegedly performed several dangerous maneuvers during the traffic stop. A municipal police vehicle was struck, and an officer, who had exited his vehicle, was run over on the foot. It was during this intervention that a municipal police officer discharged his weapon, fatally wounding the driver. The prosecutor's office stated that the victim, from the Aix-en-Provence area, was already known to the police, notably for several previous instances of failing to stop for police.
Two investigations have been opened to establish the circumstances of the tragedy.
The Avignon public prosecutor's office has opened two separate investigations. The first concerns acts of refusal to comply with police orders and violence with a weapon (by nature of the weapon) against persons in authority, the vehicle being considered the weapon used. The second concerns acts of murder committed by a person in authority in order to determine whether the police officer's use of the weapon was within the legal framework.
According to the latest statistics from the Ministerial Statistical Service for Internal Security (SSMSI), published in June, refusals to comply with roadside checks increased by 9% in 2025 compared to the previous year, an increase mainly linked to the multiplication of refusals to comply.
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