The police officer who shot and killed a 28-year-old Moroccan man in the head after he allegedly pointed a gun at him, which later turned out to be a blank, in Via Impastato in the Rogoredo district of Milan during a drug control operation is under investigation for voluntary homicide.
The police officer, assisted by the lawyer Pietro Porciani, was questioned at the police headquarters by the prosecutor Giovanni Tarzia as part of the investigation by the Police Flying Squad.
"We told him 'stop, police,' but he got even closer, about twenty meters away, and pointed the gun at me. I got scared and shot to defend myself." This is the version of the officer, who was carrying out the checks with a colleague.
"If there is no justification for self-defense in this case, I don't know in what other case there could be," explained his lawyer Pietro Porciani, specifying that the 28-year-old had "various types of drugs" with him.
The investigation will now include an autopsy on the 28-year-old's body and ballistic tests to reconstruct the trajectory of the shot and the entire dynamics of the action.
There was no shortage of political reactions, primarily from Matteo Salvini: "In the new security package, we've included a rule that prevents officers from being automatically investigated for defending themselves. I'm with the policeman."
Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala , said: " The officer who fired didn't do so at point-blank range; he was a few meters away, saw the other officer holding his gun, and fired. I'm not in favor of criminal defense, but we need to understand the context. None of us are judges; we need to fully understand the dynamics and responsibilities. The officer who fired was experienced, yet these things happen."
