Swiss police officers face manslaughter charges over Black man’s death in case echoing George Floyd

Mike Ben Peter died from a heart attack in 2018 after he was pinned face-down for several minutes during arrest

Activists hold a banner prior to opening of the trial of six policemen accused on homicide charges in relation to the death of 39-year-old Nigerian Mike Ben Peter, in Renens on 12 June 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Six police officers face homicide charges in a Swiss court case that opened on Monday following the 2018 death of a 39-year-old Black man.

Nigerian national Mike Ben Peter died from a heart attack after he was pinned, face-down, for several minutes during his arrest, in a case echoing the 2020 killing of George Floyd in the United States.

Unlike in the George Floyd case, where his final moments were captured in a video that was shared across the globe and sparked worldwide protest, there is no footage of the incident leading to Ben Peter’s death.

While in the US, officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in 2021 based on cellphone footage showing him kneeling on Floyd’s neck, Ben Peter’s death in 2018 received little attention beyond the western Swiss city where it occurred, which saw a small-scale demonstration, reported France 24.

The officers, whose identities remained undisclosed due to Swiss privacy laws, face charges of "homicide by neglect" in the case before a Lausanne criminal court. They all contest the charges and will seek acquittal, their lawyers said.

The case is one of four where Black men have died during police interventions in Vaud canton since 2016. They have sparked protests and calls for reforms.

A group of UN experts said last year that Switzerland has systemic racism issues in a report that raised serious concerns about "excessive use of force and the expectation of impunity by police" and cited this case. A government-mandated study released since then admitted the problem was structural and said measures had so far been insufficient.

Simon Ntah, the lawyer for the family, said he was not hopeful for a ruling against the officers, who face a maximum prison sentence of three years.

Bridget Efe (L), the wife of Mike Ben Peter, a 39-year-old Nigerian who died in Lausanne in March 2018, his brother (2R) and lawyer Simon Ntah (R) arrive at the criminal court at the opening of the trial of six policemen accused of homicide charges for his death, in Renens on 12 June 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

"As long as there isn’t a mechanism for independent investigations against the police we are stuck with the same problems," he said, complaining about how the same public prosecutor who works with police on other criminal cases is placed in charge of cases like this one.

The public prosecutor’s office declined to comment.

The indictment showed that Ben Peter drew the attention of officers during a Lausanne drug patrol after he collected a bag later shown to contain marijuana.

He did not comply with police requests and the officers used pepper spray and knee kicks to the ribs and crotch to handcuff him on the ground, it showed. He continued to struggle as he was held face-down by several officers for three minutes, it said, until they noticed he appeared unconscious.

Ben Peter was later pronounced dead after a heart attack with multiple causes, the indictment said, including the fact that he was held on his stomach and subjected to stress but also his obesity.

Additional reporting by agencies