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| - French medical experts on Friday exonerated three police officers accused of heavy-handedness in the arrest of a black man who died in custody nearly four years ago, a source close to the investigation told AFP. Adama Traore, 24, did not die of "positional asphyxia", said the expert report commissioned by state investigators, ruling out the officers pinning him to the ground as the cause of his demise. Instead, the experts found Traore died of heart failure possibly brought on by underlying health conditions in a context of "intense stress" and physical exertion, as well as the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol -- the active ingredient of cannabis -- in his body. The case, which sparked violent protests in Paris suburbs, became a rallying cry for police brutality in France, which young, black men say is often targeted at them. Hundreds of youths in the tough northern Paris suburbs around Traore's home rampaged for five nights after his death, clashing with police and setting vehicles on fire. Their anger was fuelled by a delay in officials announcing that Traore had died in custody 90 minutes after his arrest, and the fact that he was still handcuffed when paramedics arrived. One of the three officers had told investigators that Traore had been pinned down with their combined bodyweight after his arrest, raising questions about the methods used. Nevertheless, the officers were later given the status of special witnesses in the case, not defendants. That status, which in French law sits somewhere between being a simple witness and someone who has been indicted, means the magistrate did not regard them as having committed a crime. Judges in the case had been preparing to dismiss charges when Traore's family reopened the probe by filing a medical report which attributed his death to "an acute asphyxial syndrome", essentially choking. But the officers' lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut said Friday that three expert reports have now cleared his clients. Traore, who had no criminal record, was apprehended in a house where he hid after leading police on a 15-minute chase. He lost consciousness in their vehicle and died in the courtyard of a nearby police station. Paramedics gave contradictory accounts as to whether Traore was in the foetal position when they arrived, which could indicate whether he had received first aid or not. Several officers in France have been investigated for brutality against members of the public taking part in months-long "yellow vests" anti-government rallies, and more recently nationwide strikes against pension reform. Scores of yellow vest protesters were maimed by rubber bullets or stun grenades, many losing an eye. On January 3 this year, a 42-year-old man suffocated to death after being pinned face down to the ground during an arrest operation in Paris. In the United States, thousands were protesting police violence Friday after the death of 46-year-old George Floyd, a black man pinned to the ground by officers as a video revealed he said he could not breathe. mch-bl/mlr/sjw/cdw
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