PARIS --
The family of a French delivery driver who died in the wake of a police arrest in January has urged President Emmanuel Macron to ban the use of chokeholds.In an appeal Tuesday, the family of Cedric Chouviat is urging authorities to also suspend the four police officers involved in the arrest, during which he pleaded seven times “I'm suffocating.” Chouviat, a 42-year-old delivery man, died in hospital, two days after his Jan. 3 arrest following a traffic stop near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The death of Chouviat has similarities with the brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month, which sparked outrage around the world and a series of Black Lives Matter demonstrations.Chouviat's family appeal follows reports from daily newspaper Le Monde and investigative website Mediapart outlining the details of his 22-second arrest. Police techniques in restraining people, such as the chokehold, have come under scrutiny after Floyd was killed when Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes. A manslaughter investigation is underway though investigators have yet to decide whether to press charges against the four police officers involved in the arrest. In a press conference, Chouviat’s daughter, Sofia, said she doesn't understand why the officers have not been suspended and why chokeholds are still being used by police. Her father suffered a fracture of the larynx, she said. “We want answers,” she said. “We have a feeling of fear, of impunity, we want it to stop,” she said.Chouviat’s father, Christian, said his son "was not given any chance to survive.”Lawyer for two police officers, Laurent-Frank Lienard, told French news broadcaster LCI that his clients did not hear Chouviat’s words. French police unions won a victory last week when the government backed down from banning the use of chokeholds during arrests.
Source : abcnews.go.com
Source : abcnews.go.com