The two police officers suspected of having shot and killed a 49-year-old homeless man in Paris on Sunday evening who threatened them with "a weapon a priori dummy", saw their police custody lifted on Monday afternoon, without legal proceedings at this stage, the prosecution said on Monday.
The two police officers, both peacekeepers, had been placed in police custody on Sunday evening as part of an investigation entrusted to the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) for "willful violence resulting in death without intention to give it.
The two police officers are suspected of having killed a man who threatened them with a weapon, shortly after 8 p.m. in the 11th arrondissement, near Place de la République.
However "the weapon would be a priori artificial", indicated Monday the parquet floor.
Hit by four shots, the victim, who was homeless according to a source close to the case, died on the spot, despite the intervention of the emergency services.
Four police shots
One of the officers fired once, the second three times, another source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
A third police officer, who was part of this crew in uniform, did not use his weapon, she said Monday.
According to the first elements of the investigation which have yet to be verified, the man first threatened a dog with what appeared to be a handgun, a close source said on Sunday.
As the two patrolling police officers approached him, he turned to them, pointing his gun at them.
The police then used their weapons.
A second investigation, entrusted to the second district of the Paris judicial police, was opened by the prosecution for "attempted murder of a person holding public authority".
Witnesses, who saw the scene quite precisely, were to be heard by the investigators.
“There were no screams”
In her twenties, Elisa, who was at the "Le Timbaud" bar, a few tens of meters from the stage, had told journalists on the spot on Sunday evening: "I was on the terrace with a friend, we heard three shots and when we turned our heads, we saw a man on the ground.
“There were no cries,” added the young woman who had not been able to see if the man “was armed”.
“I heard gunshots and saw a man fall,” reported anonymously a salesman in his thirties from a supermarket open Sunday evening on Avenue de la République.
“He's not a man I've seen around here before.
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