Adam and Raihane’s death: inconsistencies in the police version revealed

In August 2022 in Vénissieux, two young men were killed by police fire on a vehicle reported stolen. The police justified their use of weapons by claiming self-defense: one of the officers allegedly fired five shots as he was riding on the hood of the getaway vehicle. Supported by a 3D reconstruction, INDEX’s counter-investigation reveals the flaws in this story.

On the night of August 18th–19th, 2022, a police raid on the Carrefour hypermarket parking lot in Vénissieux left two people dead. Adam B., aged 20, and Raihane S., aged 25, were killed by semi-automatic pistol fire while in a Renault Megane, which had been reported stolen.

The investigation determined that both individuals were killed by bullets from the same weapon, belonging to police officer Geoffray D., who was in charge of a Specialized Field Brigade patrol assigned to Vénissieux. A total of eleven bullets hit the vehicle in which Adam and Raihane were travelling.

The police officers justified the shooting on the grounds of self-defence, in the face of a case of “refusal to obey” that put them in grave danger. According to their account, the police officer, Geoffray D., was hit by the fleeing vehicle and fired as he was clinging to the vehicle’s hood, claiming that he had “no other option”. The appointed ballistics expert concluded that the scenario presented by the police was “perfectly coherent” with the material findings. The public prosecutor’s office closed the case with no further action.

INDEX conducted a counter-investigation, based on a 3D digital reconstruction of the incident. This reveals the highly implausible nature of the police account of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Adam B. and Raihane S., and highlights numerous grey areas that have so far been ignored by the official investigation.

Adam B. and Raihane S. are two of the thirteen people killed by police fire on moving vehicles during 2022, in situations known as “refusal to yield”.

Team