Deadly police operation in Bologna: Preliminary investigations opened against officers and paramedics

According to eyewitness accounts, the officers sat on the man lying on the ground for an extended period. A video published by, among others, the Italian daily La Repubblica shows him being pressed to the ground by two police officers. His hands are cuffed behind his back. He repeatedly shouts: „Hilfe! Genug, genug!". The officers, however, only release him after several minutes, by which point he had already stopped moving. An emergency doctor pronounced him dead.

Investigations against officers and paramedics

Police had been called to the Pilastro district on Saturday after residents reported that the man was behaving aggressively. According to the authorities, the officers used pepper spray and secured his wrists with handcuffs and cable ties. Shortly after he was restrained he suffered a medical emergency and died despite the intervention of the emergency services, it was said. A paramedic initially only observed the scene.

According to family members, the 42-year-old was known to police and suffered from health problems. An autopsy is to determine whether ultimately health-related causes led to his death. The Bologna police announced that they would provide investigators with the bodycam footage from the officers involved.

The Italian judiciary is investigating, according to judicial sources, the two police officers on suspicion of manslaughter. In addition, preliminary investigations have been opened against a total of four paramedics, who, according to the video, initially only observed the scene.

Protests and reactions

Following the incident, a initially peaceful rally took place in Bologna, with several thousand people gathering in the city center. Placards bore slogans such as „Wahrheit und Gerechtigkeit". After the initially peaceful rally, some participants threw bottles and Molotov cocktails at police, according to eyewitness reports. Riots also broke out. Security forces used tear gas and water cannons, and a firework was also set off near a police building.

Mayor Matteo Lepore, a Social Democrat, called a public memorial and solidarity rally with the deceased's family for Monday evening. He said the aim of the gathering was to demand truth and justice in the death and to reflect together on the tragedy. He urged citizens: „Lassen Sie uns dieser Tragödie geschlossen begegnen, so wie Bologna es immer getan hat."

Family spokespeople demanded clarification. The deceased's sister accused police of mistreating her brother and demanded clarification and justice. The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged „völlige Transparenz" in the investigation.

Political reactions in Rome

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said he had full confidence that the investigation would clarify the facts. Police initially rejected the accusations, saying they had intervened at the request and following complaints from neighbors. Europe Minister Tommaso Foti described chants such as „Polizei sind Mörder" and „Die ganze Welt hasst euch" as shameful.

The case is making headlines in Italy because excessive police violence is suspected. People also took to the streets in other cities to protest against the incident. Senator Ilaria Cucchi of the left-green AVS party weighed in, demanding a thorough investigation into the Bologna incident.

In several Italian cities people are taking to the streets. Authorities announced that the investigations would be swiftly advanced. The results of the autopsy as well as the analysis of the bodycam footage are considered crucial to further clarifying the death of Abderrahim F.

A Moroccan man dies in Bologna while two police officers pin him to the ground. The image went around the world and raises questions about the relationship between citizens and police in Italy.