Refusal to comply, self-defense, hit and run: what does the law say?
[ad_1]
August 18 in Venissieux, June 4 in Parisalso on April 24 in the heart of the capitalMarch 26 in Sevran… in recent months, several police checks have ended in fatal shootings, on the grounds of a “refusal to comply”, sparking debates on the use of firearms by the police. In June, during the campaign for the legislative elections, the leader of the New People’s Ecological and Social Union, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, had spoken for a total overhaul of the “use of police force doctrine”while the candidate of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, had insisted on “the presumption of self-defence” of which must “benefit the police”. What do these concepts cover? What are the applicable rules?
The context of police self-defense
“In law, shooting a firearm is an offense unless the conditions of non-liability are met or it is a situation of self-defence. Generally speaking, an investigation is opened following a shooting by a police officer and is followed by an investigation by the “police of the police” [IGPN] », explains Méryl Recotillet, a lawyer specializing in criminal law. The absolute necessity and proportionality of the response form the legal basis, both at French and European level, for the use of force. “The criterion of absolute necessity is, for example, difficult to demonstrate when a weapon is used against a person with their back to the police officer”, she details.
In France, the legal framework for the use of force by the police is defined by the February 2017 law on public security. It amended the internal security code, in which the conditions for “opening fire” for police officers, hitherto subject to the criminal code and the principles of self-defense like any citizen, are now aligned with those of the gendarmes, considered more flexible.
The use of firearms
“Before the 2017 law, the regime for the use of weapons for police officers was not governed by any particular text and fell solely under common law. In the event of the use of his weapon, the police officer had to demonstrate self-defence”notes Méryl Recotillet.
Now, according to the article L. 435-1 of the internal security codethe agents of the national police, like the soldiers of the gendarmerie, can, in addition to certain cases aimed at dispersing a crowduse their weapons in five situations:
- in the event of attack on their life or their physical integrity, or of threat;
- after warnings, if they cannot defend themselves or protect third parties otherwise;
- to prevent recurrence of murder or attempted murder;
- if they have to neutralize an individual who is trying to escape and risks attacking third parties in his escape;
- when a motorist’s “refusal to comply” physically threatens the police.
Law enforcement officers remain, however, required to fire only when absolutely necessary and in a manner strictly proportionate to the threat, in the performance of their duties and wearing their uniform or external insignia.
The “refusal to comply”
The affair which occurred on June 4 in Paris begins during a police check, one of the passengers not wearing his seatbelt, according to the police. As they approached, the car fled. A little further on, as officials on ATVs tried to control him again, the driver reportedly started and “dark” on them. Faced with this “refusal to comply”, the police opened fire.
The refusal to comply, provided for in article L233-1 of the highway code, is the fact that the driver of a vehicle does not stop when summoned by a police or gendarmerie officer. For this refusal to be a valid reason for the use of their weapon by the police, the driver must physically threaten an officer or a third party likely to be injured. The 2017 law has specifically expanded the scope of police action in this case.
The refusal to comply is distinct from the hit-and-run: described in article 434-10 of the penal code et al’article L-231-1 of the highway codeit designates the fact for the driver of a vehicle to cause an accident, to be aware of it and to flee.
Since the mid-2010s, the General Inspectorate of the National Police has published each year extracts from the TSUA file (processing relating to the monitoring of the use of weapons), which lists the use of their service weapons by police officers. “The year 2017 marked a turning point, with a significant increase in the number of shots, followed by a drop and then stabilization at a higher level than before 2017 (283 in 2020), notes the sociologist specializing in the police, Jacques de Maillard. It is not known if these shots were legitimate or not, but we know that they have increased, especially on moving vehicles (153 in 2020). »
Recent reports from the IGPN show an increase in the number of deaths during a police mission (32 in 2020, compared to 17 in 2018), as well as a doubling of the use of the taser since the middle of the 2010s.
The “use of force doctrine”
France does not have a single “doctrine” in terms of police practices, but a set of texts codifying the action of the police: penal code, internal security code, circulars… At the top of the pyramid of standards is the European convention of human rights, which established the right to life and limited the use of force. At the bottom of this pyramid are added a number of more or less formal rules “governing the daily practice of police officers, from their initial training to operational briefings in the police station, including continuing education. This is where there is room for improvement to better supervise, through detailed support, the use of force by officers,” emphasizes Mr. de Maillard.
This set of provisions determines the behavior of police officers. “There are so many levels of regulation, from the main principles to the small lines, that any reform project is complex”analyzes criminologist Sébastien Roché, comparing the French system to the British system. “The British police have, for example, a clear doctrine in terms of neighborhood policing: a public document details the objectives, the means deployed, as well as the monitoring and efficiency measures. » There is, to date, no equivalent for the French police.
This article originally written in June 2022 was republished on August 19, 2022.
[ad_2]
Source link
