It was a Friday morning like so many others for Cédric Chouviat. Domiciled in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine), this 42-year-old delivery man had left around 8:30 a.m. the headquarters of his father's business, rue Saint-Ferdinand in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. On the handlebars of his black Piaggio Vespa, a small displacement scooter, he had to visit around fifty companies located in the capital and in the inner suburbs in order to deliver folds of lunch vouchers. A journey of around 200 km, its daily share for several years.
Brother of Marvin Martin, ex-member of the French football team (15 selections), he had tried before in the profession of player agent. But had ended up reconnecting with the profession of delivery boy that he had embraced from an early age in the family fold. Shortly before 9:55 am, this January 3, he is driving on the Pont d'Iéna opposite the Eiffel Tower in the direction of the 15th arrondissement. At the corner of Quai Branly and Avenue de Suffren, Cédric Chouviat is then controlled by a police patrol, attached to the police station of the 7th arrondissement.
Two reasons are held against the driver of the scooter. He would have used his phone while driving and his license plate would be partially illegible. "He always carried his phone over the shoulder, but not to make phone calls," defends Doria, his wife. He used it to photograph the receipts after each delivery. To communicate, Cédric only used his headset. "
A defining video?
Following the check, Cédric Chouviat is fined for traffic violations. The man described by his own entourage as "big mouth but not brawler", or "skinned alive", would he have felt victim of an injustice? According to the intervention report that we consulted, the delivery man returned to the police car. The tone would then be raised between the police and this father of five children (aged 3 to 21 years). Insults would have been fired.
The man is arrested for contempt and handcuffed. "The individual resisted his handcuffing, forcing us to go to the ground to control him," said the police intervention report. Under what conditions precisely? In response to the call for witnesses launched on Twitter by Me Arié Alimi, the lawyer for the Chouviat family, a passerby transmitted a video that would shed light on the entire sequence. It is due to be broadcast this Tuesday morning during a press conference organized by Me Alimi at the headquarters of the League for Human Rights.
Does it show a muscular but regulatory scene of inquiry? Or does it, on the contrary, reveal a disproportionate use of force? One thing is certain, it is at this moment that Cédric Chouviat has a cardiac arrest. Transported to the emergency room, he cannot be resuscitated and dies at 3:30 a.m. at the Georges-Pompidou hospital, on the night of Saturday to Sunday.
Autopsy results expected Tuesday
The General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) is then responsible for an investigation to find the causes of death. "The IGPN proceeded to the exploitation of the first video recordings, let us know the parquet floor of Paris this Monday evening. Other videos should also be collected. Witness hearings, some of which are still in progress, have been conducted. The investigations will give rise to the collection of other testimonies. "
In addition, still according to the Paris prosecutor's office, the autopsy of Cédric Chouviat was carried out Monday afternoon at the forensic institute. The results are expected later today. They should provide precise answers on the origin of death.
"I want to know what really happened"
In the meantime, Doria, his wife for over twenty years, refuses to surrender to grief. "I want to know what really happened, for my husband, for me and for our children," she breathes. I note that Cédric died following contact with the police who are supposed to keep us safe. He was armed only with a telephone and could not pose a threat to a patrol. Their intervention, in any case, seems disproportionate to me. Yes, he was taking treatment for a high blood pressure problem, but he had no history of heart problems. "
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For Cédric Chouviat, this inquiry was not entirely a first. Five years ago, he had already been arrested for contempt in Paris under similar conditions, riding a scooter. "He had been strangled and told me that he had seen death in the face at the time," breathes Doria.