‘I’m suffocating’: French police ‘charged with manslaughter’ after officers forcibly pin down man

Family reportedly say they are ‘relieved’ at news

Three officers have reportedly been charged over the death of Cedric Chouviat (AP)

Three police officers have been charged over the death of a delivery driver in Paris, according to French media.

Cedric Chouviat was pinned to the ground after being pulled over during a traffic stop in January.

He suffered a heart attack and died two days later, according to French newspaper Le Monde.

His father said the 42-year-old said he was suffocating - echoing the death of George Floyd in the US, which sparked global protests against racism and police brutality - based on video footage of the arrest.

“He was shouting out, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe’,” Christian Chouviat said last month.

Three police officers have now been charged with manslaughter in conjunction with the delivery driver’s death, according to AFP.

Chouviat’s family have said they are “relieved” following the news, but were disappointed with the type of charge, Franceinfo reported.

They do not believe the manslaughter charge “fits the violence and the aggressiveness of members of the police, which has emerged from the videos shot by witnesses and passersby”, their lawyers said in a statement, the French broadcaster reported.

A fourth officer is reportedly under investigation over Chouviat’s death but has not been charged.

Questions over his death have resurfaced after the killing of Floyd in the US, who died after an officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Laurent-Franck Lienard, part of the legal team representing the police officers, told LCI television last month the police did not hear Chouviat say he was having breathing difficulties at the time.

Additional reporting by Reuters