France investigates man’s death after subway security check

By ARNO PEDRAM
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French authorities have launched an investigation into the asphyxiation death of a 37-year-old man after subway security agents detained him in the southern city of Marseille. The death came as arrest techniques have been under heightened criticism in France after multiple cases of abuse or fatal arrests. Prosecutors say the man resisted arrest, and the investigation is aimed at assessing the proportionality of the agents’ response. The man’s mother told a local newspaper that he had a mental disability that prevented him from understanding things and explaining himself clearly. France banned police chokeholds earlier this year.