Death of Steve Maia Caniço: the former prefect of Loire-Atlantique indicted for "manslaughter"

According to

and franceinfo, Claude d'Harcourt, who was the prefect of Loire-Atlantique in office in June 2019, was indicted Thursday, October 14 for "manslaughter", in the investigation into the death of Steve Maia Caniço on June 22, 2019 on the sidelines of the Music Festival in Nantes.

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On the night of June 21 to 22, 2019, Steve Maia Caniço, a 24-year-old extracurricular animator, had disappeared after a police operation intended to put an end to an electro evening on the banks of the Loire during the Music Festival. The young man took part in a techno evening on a quai de la Loire not equipped with a guardrail, interrupted around 4:30 am by clashes between revelers and police officers who came to enforce the deadline for music broadcasting. Participants in the evening have repeatedly denounced a disproportionate police intervention, carried out in a blinding cloud of tear gas and causing panic. Fallen into the water, several people were recovered from the Loire by the emergency services. The police say for their part that there was

security forces who according to her responded to throwing projectiles.

Steve's body was recovered a few days later.

To read also "Justice for Steve", emotion seizes the city of Nantes

In this case, the chief of staff of the prefect of Loire-Atlantique at the time of the facts had also been indicted on July 22 for "manslaughter", as well as, on July 13, the police commissioner in charge of the security system.

The deputy departmental director of public security in post at the time of the facts, was placed under the status of "assisted witness" on July 19, as well as the town hall of Nantes and Nantes Métropole, on July 21, as legal persons. .

Finally Johanna Rolland, the mayor of Nantes, and Gilles Nicolas, the deputy mayor in charge of security, were also placed under this status in September.