Killing of Nahel Merzouk

On June 27, 2023, at 8:18 a.m., 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk was killed by a police officer in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine department, France). Filmed by a witness, his death sparked a wave of revolt across France. One year after the event, INDEX reveals a detailed reconstruction of the circumstances surrounding Nahel Merzouk’s killing.

This investigation was published in two parts.

The first part, which we published on June 27, 2024, presented an in-depth analysis of the videos of three witnesses, cross-referenced with information contained in the judicial file on the case, which the INDEX team was able to consult. In a 3D digital model, we reconstructed the positions and gestures of the two police officers involved in Nahel Merzouk’s killing.

In the second part of the investigation, which we are publishing today, INDEX presents an analysis of the recording from the urban surveillance camera located opposite Passage Arago in Nanterre, which the investigative NGO is making public for the very first time. This recording enables us to precisely reconstruct the trajectory of Nahel Merzouk’s vehicle as it started up again, and to assess the distance separating the police officer who fired the shot from the low wall behind him. By cross-referencing the data from the autopsy report and the photos taken on the vehicle, the investigation also presents a ballistic study enabling the position of Nahel Merzouk, at the wheel of the vehicle, to be reconstructed at the moment the shot was fired.

Conclusions

Our investigation establishes that in the twenty-two seconds preceding the fatal shot:

• Police officer Florian M., who fired the shot, hit the windshield of the vehicle driven by Nahel Merzouk four times with his firearm;

• The second policeman, Julien L., strikes the interior of the vehicle and raises his gun to Nahel Merzouk’s head;

A second before the shot was fired, one of the two policemen apparently uttered a death threat.

Nahel Merzouk’s left hand was raised in front of his face when he was hit, presumably for protection. Police officer Florian M.’s bullet passed through his wrist before hitting him in the chest.

When it started up again, Nahel Merzouk’s vehicle veered away from the sidewalk and low wall on its left. The video surveillance images, supplemented by the 3D reconstruction, contradict the statements made by police officer Florian M. at the hearing:

“I opened fire because I felt myself being pushed backwards by the vehicle, towards the wall which was quite close behind me […]”.

At the time of the shot, which occurred one second after Nahel Merzouk’s vehicle had restarted, the two lanes of traffic on the Passage Arago were still blocked by stationary vehicles. Nahel Merzouk’s vehicle had no immediate means of escape. However, police officer Florian M. justifies his shooting by invoking self-defense under article L. 435-1 of the French Internal Security Code :

“I think we were in that context. […] As far as I’m concerned, the injury to others is proven because the city’s video surveillance clearly shows that he almost hit at least two people. I also felt threatened, in addition to my colleague whom I wanted to protect. And then there were so many people in the street, as I explained earlier. I really think today that I saved lives. At least one life. I don’t know. Unfortunately, I had to take his life, and that’s something that touches me. It’s a sad thing, I’m still affected today by his death, but I had no choice.”