Investigation questions police claims of self-defence in killing of Zurich man

Nzoy case: a report calls into question self-defence Keystone-SDA

Nzoy Roger Wilhelm, the Zurich man who died in 2021 at Morges station in canton Vaud as a result of police gunfire, was not attacking the police but fleeing, according to a new report. This fact contradicts the theory that the police were acting in self-defence, which had previously been accepted.

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According to a video analysis combined with 3D reconstructions, “Nzoy’s hands were open just before the first two shots were fired at him. It was therefore highly unlikely that he was holding a knife at the time”, says the Border Forensics research and investigation agency, whose report was presented to the press at the Théâtre de Vidy on Monday.

The result of two years’ work in collaboration with the independent commission on the death of Roger Nzoy Wilhelm, this counter-investigation aimed to “produce a detailed analysis of the events” leading up to Nzoy’s death.

The case was initially closed at the end of November 2024. However, last May the Vaud Cantonal Court decided to reopen the investigation.

Translated from French by DeepL/jdp

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