An Italian police officer has been arrested on suspicion of murder over the fatal shooting of a Moroccan man in the Rogoredo district of Milan on the night of 26 January, sparking a political row in Italy.
Carmelo Cinturrino, a 42-year-old assistant chief of Mecenate police station, was arrested on murder charges after he shot 28-year-old Abderrahim Mansouri in the head during a drugs patrol.
Initial reports provided by Cinturrino and colleagues present at the scene suggested that the officer had acted in self-defence after Mansouri allegedly pointed a firearm at him, newspaper Corriere della Sera reports.
Investigation
However, forensic analysis and witness statements have contradicted this account, with Milan prosecutors alleging that Mansouri was unarmed at the time of the incident and had been trying to escape.
Investigators believe that Cinturrino directed a junior colleague to retrieve a replica Beretta 92 gun, which only fired blanks, from the police station following the fatal shot.
The gun was then allegedly planted at the scene to support Cinturrino’s claim that Mansouri had been armed.
Four of Cinturrino’s colleagues are being investigated for aiding and abetting, for initially supporting his version of events, for failing to provide assistance, and for waiting 23 minutes to call for help for Mansouri as he lay there dying after the shooting.
Cinturrino initially told investigators that he had heard on the police radio that some colleagues were arresting a drug dealer in the Rogoredo area and that he had decided to join them, Il Post reports.
Once there, he said he recognised Mansouri, who allegedly belonged to a criminal gang that controlled drug dealing in the area.
Shooting
He said that Mansouri had pointed a gun at him and continued to advance toward him, despite orders to stop, at which point Cinturrino said he decided to defend himself by shooting him from a distance of about 20 metres.
The bullet struck Mansouri in the right temple, killing him. Cinturrino claimed that Mansouri had been facing him at the time of the shooting.
However the autopsy revealed that Mansouri’s face was turned slightly to the left, which his lawyers say is proof that the deceased was actually fleeing when he was shot.
Also under investigation is the 23-minute-delay in calling emergency services, time which prosecutors believe may have been used to alter the murder scene.
Gun
Another officer involved in the operation that led to the killing of Mansouri said he had been sent that night to get a backpack from the police station, about a 10-minute drive from the murder scene.
The building’s security cameras show him entering empty-handed and leaving with a backpack, and the officer said he didn’t know what it contained, according to Il Post.
One theory is that the backpack contained the blank-firing pistol placed near Mansouri, although the red cap which identifies fake weapons had been removed to make it appear real.
Prosecutors allege that this was done to stage a non-existent threat to justify Cinturrino’s shooting.
Investigators reportedly found fingerprints left by Cinturrino on the gun, but none belonging to Mansouri.
Admission
“I put the gun near Mansouri because I feared the consequences of what had happened”, Cinturrino told his lawyer Piero Porciani from prison on Monday, newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore reports.
“I told my colleague to go and get the backpack” at the police station, “he knew what was inside”, Cinturrino admitted.
“I was supposed to be the one who enforced the law, I made a mistake” – he said – “I apologise to all the people who wear the uniform: I betrayed their trust.”
Controversial profile
Cinturrino now faces scrutiny regarding his conduct in Rogoredo, a wooded area synonymous with drug dealing.
He is known among his colleagues as Thor, “both because many were afraid of him and because he always carried a hammer”, according to SkyTG24.
Testimonies from witnesses and fellow officers paint a controversial profile of Cinturrino, alleging that he extorted protection money and narcotics from local drug dealers. Cinturrino denies these charges.
“He was a significantly aggressive and violent person,” the officers involved reported, “accustomed to hitting people who frequented the Rogoredo woods, sometimes with a hammer”, SkyTG24 reports.
Political reaction
The developments have triggered a major political debate in Italy, with Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition coming under fire from the opposition.
The Meloni government had initially cited the Rogoredo case as an example of why a proposed law aimed at giving more protection to police officers using weapons in self-defence was needed.
Meloni expressed “dismay” over the findings, stating that if the allegations are confirmed, they would represent a “grave betrayal of the nation” and an affront to the dignity of the Italian law enforcement agencies.
She stressed that the state must be “implacable with those who make mistakes,” while reiterating her support for the hundreds of thousands of officers who serve with integrity.
Opposition leaders have criticised the government’s initial defence of the officer, calling for a reconsideration of a recent security decree that proposes increased legal protections for law enforcement personnel.
Security package
Earlier this month the Meloni cabinet approved sweeping new security measures, including greater self-defence guarantees for police officers who respond to assaults, as well as preventive detention powers allowing police to detain individuals deemed a “threat to public safety” for up to 12 hours, before a demonstration begins.
The security package triggered criticism from centre-left opposition parties and civil-rights groups amid claims that it was repressive and could undermine constitutional rights to free assembly, while extra police powers could lead to a militarisation of Italian cities.
The measures were unveiled after more than 100 police officers were injured in riots by far-left protesters in Turin on 31 January.
The next day Meloni visited some of the injured officers in hospital, including one who suffered broken bones in a hammer attack, saying that he was the victim of attempted murder.
The security package requires conversion into law by parliament within 60 days of publication.
Photo credit: Alberto Fornasari / Shutterstock.com.