A police officer shot and killed a 23-year-old man during a police check in Neuville-en-Ferrain, a French municipality about 10 kilometres from Kortrijk, at about 3.00 a.m. on Tuesday.
The officer has been detained as part of the investigation into the fatal incident.
A team of officers had wanted to check on the occupants of a vehicle with a false number plate when the driver suddenly drove away, Lille prosecutor Carole Etienne said. An officer managed to open the door of the car on the driver’s side to get the man out. He fired a shot that hit the man in his side, La Voix du Nord wrote.
Despite the intervention of the emergency services, the driver died on the spot. The man was known to police for drug offences and was sentenced in June to six months in prison for failing to perform community service.
The other occupant was arrested for stealing the car and disobeying the police.
In France, there is now criticism of the approach to people who do not follow police orders. In mid-August, two more people were killed near Lyon after officers checked a vehicle reported stolen.
Police figures show that last year there were 157 cases in France of shots being fired at moving vehicles after drivers disobeyed police.
