Death of Zineb Redouane: a counter-expertise of the tear gas grenade shot
Published on
Using previously unseen documents and 3D modelling of the events, Forensic Architecture and Disclose have reconstructed the precise circumstances of the incident that killed Zineb Redouane on 1 December 2018. This counter-expertise flatly contradicts the conclusions of the official expert report.
- Incident date
- Location
- Marseille (France)
- Victim(s)
- Zineb Redouane (80 y.o.)
- Consequence(s)
- Death
- Force(s) involved
- National Police, CRS
- Methods employed
- Tear gas grenade
- Theme(s)
- Partner(s)
- Forensic Architecture, Disclose
At the time this investigation was published, Index was still being incubated within the research agency Forensic Architecture. The investigation is therefore credited to Forensic Architecture and Disclose.
On 1 December 2018, on the sidelines of a Yellow Vests protest in Marseille, Zineb Redouane, 80, was hit in the face by a tear gas grenade fired from a Cougar launcher as she stood at the window of her fourth-floor flat. She died in hospital the following day.
In May 2020, a further document was added to the ongoing judicial investigation: a ballistics expert’s report intended to establish whether the officer who fired the shot, a member of the CRS riot police, had followed the regulations. The report exonerated the officer, concluding: “The weapon was used in accordance with the recommendations and operating procedures in force in the National Police.”
Drawing on elements of this report and on a detailed 3D model of the scene, Forensic Architecture and Disclose carried out a counter-expertise, reconstructing the precise sequence of events that led to Zineb Redouane’s death.
The investigation finds that the officer who fired the shot and his supervisor clearly remain responsible for Zineb Redouane’s death.