2023-08-19 05:26:00
A restless night in Oupeye where the driver of a quad was shot down late Friday followingnoon by a police officer following crushing and injuring another. This gave rise to tensions between the young people of the commune and the police. Tensions that obviously continued overnight. Serge Fillot, mayor of Oupeye, describes the night as “hot” on the airwaves of Bel RTL. He speaks of “urban riots with the destruction of furniture, the police being attacked and the destruction of public property. It was a bit of a war scene in the center of Oupeye.” This morning, a meeting of competent authorities should occur to assess the situation. “There were a dozen arrests, including one judicial. They are mainly young people from the town and a surrounding town”, adds the mayor.
Back to the facts
A person was fatally shot by a police officer on Friday around 4:30 p.m. in Oupeye, a witness told us via the orange Alert us button.
This Friday evening, the Liège prosecutor’s office communicated the first elements of the facts. “The police have been known to spot a quad driver who is driving in a dangerous manner. They decide to challenge him and control him, as is usually done. It’s a routine check that ends up going wrong, since the driver of the quad, when the police try to arrest him, will run into the police. It is in any case the first testimonies that give us this version. He will overthrow one of the two police officers, who finds himself under the quad, and his colleague will fire at that moment“, indicated Damien Leboutte, division prosecutor in Liège.
Following the events in rue Perreau, the two police officers were taken to hospital. “The first for physical injury, and the second in a state of shock following the shot he had to fire“, specifies the prosecutor. As for the driver of the quad, he died on the spot and the SMUR sent might not do anything.
What is the driver profile? “At this stage, I do not have the information on the person“, replies the prosecutor. According to our sources, the man was in his twenties, married and a father.
A police file opened following the use of the service weapon
A forensic scientist went to the scene, as well as a ballistics expert, an automobile expert and the federal police laboratory. “The investigation is ongoing and the justice system has taken over“, indicates Damien Leboutte. The objective is to determine the exact circumstances of the facts. “We have a police officer who is going to have to be heard as a suspect. This is the principle: from the moment a police officer uses his weapon, and even more in the case of the death of a person, we open a file once morest the police officer because we have to clarity on what really happened“, confided this Friday evening the prosecutor. The file is in the hands of Committee P. It is the Standing Committee for the Control of Police Services, supervised by the federal parliament.
The autopsy is scheduled for Monday. Classic investigative duties are ongoing, such as neighborhood surveys and the use of cameras potentially present nearby.
Tempers are heating up
Following the events, a security perimeter was set up. In the moments that followed, young people from the commune gathered near the perimeter. Some expressed their anger following the fatal shooting. The mayor said he spoke with the companion of the deceased man. She “calls for calm, she would like the investigation to take place in a certain serenity“.
Police called in reinforcements to provide security to the scene and forensic officers. “Oupeye is a quiet commune in the region. It is an unusual fact that we have to call for reinforcements and that there is a kind of beginning of a riot in Oupeye. It’s totally unexpected, but I took the necessary measures to calm things down. I had started a fruitful dialogue with young people, some of whose parents I know because I have been in the town for 50 years. For reasons unknown to me, tempers have flared up once more“, told us Serge Fillot. “Several police areas come in reinforcement with dog handlers. We are awaiting reinforcements from the federal government and I have taken administrative measures to prohibit gatherings and restore order. I am counting on the young people of the commune, despite the mourning and the drama, to try to keep a cool head and to establish responsibilities“.
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