Mike Ben Peter died after arrest in Lausanne. His death sparked protests and calls for police reforms (BBC)
About six police officers are facing homicide charges in connection with the death of a Nigerian man, after he suffered a heart attack from “excessive use of force”.
Mike Ben Peter, 39, died in 2018 after being arrested and pinned face-down for several minutes by the police in the city of Lausanne.
The indictment showed that Peter drew the attention of officers after he collected a bag later shown to contain marijuana.
According to the indictment, he did not comply with police requests and the officers used pepper spray and knee kicks to the ribs and crotch to handcuff him on the ground.
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He continued to struggle as he was held face-down by several officers for three minutes, it said, until they noticed he appeared unconscious.
However, the police argue that they used standard techniques to apprehend the alleged drug dealer.
The officers face charges of “homicide by neglect” in a court case that opens on Monday.
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The deceased’s family and anti-racist groups in Switzerland have likened his death to that of George Floyd who was killed by police in the United States.
They also said they are not hopeful of a ruling against the officers.
In 2022, the United Nations (UN) said Switzerland has a serious problem with racism against people of African descent.
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