A 15-year-old boy who allegedly tried to flee police by jumping into the frigid waters of Southampton, in the south of the UK, was left to his fate by officers who prioritized arresting his friend, according to an independent investigation. .
“I just remember hearing splashes of water and a lot of panting because it was so cold that night. Under no circumstances [ils ont vérifié si Marcel allait bien]. “They focused on asking me what I had,” said the victim’s friend, whose identity has been protected because of his age, the Telegraph reported on Monday.
On Monday, the 17-year-old spoke as part of an investigation being conducted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, in an attempt to shed light on the events of November 7, 2021, in which young Marcel Fochna allegedly lost his life after drowning at sea. frozen water.
That day, the two young men left their home in the middle of the night to smoke in a garden, before taking a small boat on the River Itchen, to moor on a pontoon where other boats were, according to British media.
Upon seeing the two young men walking on the boats, the witnesses had called the police. Except that when they arrived, the young victim had been overcome with fear, didn’t want to “get in trouble with his mother” and was going to tell his friend he’d rather try to save himself in the water, the Telegraph continued. “.
The 17-year-old would have told the court he believed the joke because “the water froze over and the current was really strong,” and he would have told coroner Jason Page.
However, instead of directly ascertaining the teenager’s safety in the water, the two agents proceeded to arrest his friend, by blaring a “suspicious in the water” briefing on the radio before heading to their car and leaving. The young man is alone in the water, according to the BBC.
His body was reportedly recovered two days later. The independent investigation is ongoing.
