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Cédric Chouviat: French police investigated over death of delivery driver

Getty Images A candlelight memorial for Cédric Chouviat, in January, soon after his deathGetty Images
Cédric Chouviat, a father of five, died two days after the arrest

A delivery driver in Paris who died after a traffic stop in January was heard shouting "I'm suffocating" in footage seen by French media.

Cédric Chouviat, a 42-year-old father-of-five, reportedly said he couldn't breathe seven times in 22 seconds as the officers appeared to pin him down.

Four police officers have now been questioned over his death in January.

He died in hospital two days after the arrest. A coroner later ruled he'd died of asphyxia and a broken larynx.

The officers have previously said they stopped Mr Chouviat for looking at his phone while riding his scooter, and for having a dirty licence plate, French newspaper Le Monde reported.

Investigators will now decide whether the four officers should be charged over the death.

None of the police officers involved in the case have been suspended. Their lawyer Thibault de Montbrial has declined to comment on the latest reports, AFP news agency reported.

According to witnesses, who have spoken to French newspaper Le Monde, the police officers held Mr Chouviat in a chokehold - a controversial and potentially deadly form of restraint that is outlawed in many countries.

Mr Chouviat was a father of five. His family has accused the police of using "dangerous" restraint techniques, and that the violence against him was unjustified.

Getty Images Doria Chouviat, Cédric Chouviat's wife, and other relatives leading a march in JanuaryGetty Images
Cédric Chouviat's wife Doria and other family members led a rally in Paris in January

This month, mass protests against police brutality have been held all over the world, after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis on 25 May. In a parallel with Mr Chouviat's pleas for help, Mr Floyd was also heard saying "I can't breathe" as a police officer knelt on his neck.

In France, young Black and Arab men say they are disproportionately the victims of police brutality.

Following protests, the French government announced earlier this month that it was banning the potentially deadly chokehold technique.

However, they reversed this decision just a few days later after a backlash from police unions, who held demonstrations across the country.