By Hajer M'tiri
RENNES, France
Two police officers accused of failing to help two teenagers whose deaths resulted in weeks of rioting around France have been acquitted.
Sebastien Gaillemin, 41, and Stephanie Klein, 38, were cleared by a court in the western city of Rennes of "failing to assist persons in danger". Both the public prosecutor and the defense had called for the acquittals.
As the verdict was announced, a relative of one of the teenagers shouted: "Shame on your justice. Ten years of judicial impunity...You are all responsible."
The deaths of Bouna Traore, 15, and Zyed Benna, 17 -- electrocuted while being pursued by police in Clichy-sous-Bois, an eastern suburb of Paris -- in October 2005 sparked some of the worst unrest seen in France in decades.
A third teen, Muhittin Altun, suffered severe burns while hiding in an electricity substation.
The riots led then prime minister Dominique de Villepin to declare a state of emergency.
Reading the verdict, which followed a five-day trial in March, Judge Nicolas Leger said the officers were not aware of the danger Traore and Benna faced.
"For a conviction there should be a serious, real and imminent danger that the police were aware of,” he said.
Gaillemin and radio operator Klein were accused of not assisting the teens by notifying the electricity company of their presence in the substation.
Lawyers for the officers argued they were unaware of the boys' presence.
"If they go in the EDF substation, I would not give much for their skin,” Gaillemin said over the radio -- a statement interpreted by the families as indicating his knowledge that the boys had entered the facility.
However, in acquitting the officers of all charges, the judge said Klein was a young, inexperienced probationer while Gaillemin had never been aware of the danger to the teens.
The case was brought by the teenagers’ families after it was dropped by the appeal court in 2011 when the prosecution said no crime had been committed.
"It's like something hit us," Amor Benna, the father of Zyed, told reporters as he left court. Jean-Pierre Mignard, representing the boys’ families, described the verdicts as "shocking".
Gaillemin and Klein, who are still serving officers, had faced up to five years in prison and a 75,000 euro ($79,000) fine.
Memorials are due to be held across the country in the wake of the verdicts. There are concerns the acquittals could spark further violence in France’s suburban ghettos.
