RTL is covering the trial of a former police officer who is facing homicide charges after fatally shooting a driver in Bonnevoie in 2018.
On the first day of trial, the accused police officer claimed he acted in self-defence, and had never intended on killing the driver. Not much more was communicated, given the trial is dominated by expert statements.
The events date back to 11 April 2018, when a 51-year-old driver tried to evade a police check in Bonnevoie. After police chased the vehicle and urged the driver to stop, he seemed to dangerously accelerate towards police officers. The officer shot the driver through his windshield.
What did experts say on the first day of trial?
An engineer presented his report on the movement patterns of the two cars, i.e. the fleeing Mercedes and the police car.
The report shows that the Mercedes was driving at high speed towards the police car. A skid mark of almost 10 metres was measured in front of the police car, which can be attributed to the Mercedes. Thereafter, the vehicle drove around the police car. The engineer emphasised how close to the police car the manoeuvre took place.
The expert in ballistics opined that during this manoeuvre, the police officer in question fired three shots at the car. One through the front windscreen, one through the side window from the passenger side, and another through the rear window.
After that, the Mercedes grazed the wall of a house and ran into a tree at a speed of 25 kilometres per hour before coming to a halt. Now to be clarified is where exactly the policeman was standing when he fired the shots.
Over the next few days, a whole series of witnesses and experts will be heard. Then a long film of the reconstruction of the events will be shown. The trial is scheduled to last 3 weeks.
