According to the council chamber, there are insufficient indications that the man made a mistake and therefore caused Charrot’s death. The other police officers involved in the pursuit of the young man must also not appear in court. The family reacts disappointed. “This is a shocking decision for the family,” says lawyer Alexis Deswaef. “We are going to the indictment chamber in the hope of still achieving justice pour Adil.”
Charrot (19) died in April 2020 during a police chase in Kuregem, a district in Anderlecht. During a police check in the context of the corona measures, he fled with his scooter. According to the council chamber, his license plate had been defaced, after which the officers decided to pursue him. When Charrot wanted to overtake a van, he collided head-on with a police car, which came from the other side.
Charrot’s death led to much frustration and anger. He was loved in his neighborhood. Rumors soon spread that the police had deliberately driven into him. His death caused unrest in the neighborhood, at the height of the corona measures.
Too fast
The public prosecutor’s office and the police placed responsibility on Charrot. He allegedly drove too fast, the front light on his scooter did not work, meaning the police officer in the approaching car could not avoid him. An initial expert report, made by an expert appointed by the investigating judge, confirmed that thesis.
The family then appointed a traffic expert themselves. He came to very different conclusions. According to the opposing expert, there was no reliable way to determine how fast Charrot was driving. Moreover, Charrot would have driven in the middle of the road, making him clearly visible to oncoming traffic, including the police car. According to the family, the file shows that shortly after the collision the police officer said on the police radio that he had been looking for a way to “block the road”.
But according to the council chamber, the officers made no mistakes during the pursuit. According to witnesses, Charrot drove too fast and inappropriately. According to the council chamber, the police officers could not avoid the accident, “given the speed at which everything happened and because the lights of the scooter were not on.” There was, according to the judge, no other and less dangerous way than a chase to identify Charrot because his license plate was illegible. The judge dismisses the findings in the counter-expertise. According to the council chamber, the second expertise is less credible because it was only carried out three years after the facts and the counter expert had not arrived on site.
Racism and sexism
On Monday, on the eve of the council chamber’s ruling, it came to light via the RTBF that there are five complaints about racism and bullying behavior against the officer involved. The man was suspended. Anonymous sources within the force dismissed the complaints as “an attempt to destabilize the force.”
The agent has previously been discredited. In May 2023, one of his colleagues went to the investigating judge in charge of the Charrot case, because the man allegedly made racist statements at work. The officer allegedly stated, among other things, that he had “helped one off the street.” The report also included an internal letter from November 2022, signed by twelve colleagues. They also complained about racist and sexist comments that the person concerned allegedly made. The man was then transferred to another service.
According to the council chamber, there are no indications that Charrot was pursued because of his origin or skin color. According to the court, the fact that there were complaints about racism about the police officer behind the wheel three years later is not relevant.
