They stopped him first by using pepper spray and then by pinning him face down and tying his wrists and ankles. This is how Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan man with a valid passport, died. He was stopped yesterday morning by police officers after going on a rampage on Via Svevo, in the heart of Pilastro , a working-class, multi-ethnic neighborhood in Bologna . The same neighborhood that, during the 2020 election campaign, made headlines for Matteo Salvini's raid on an apartment building in search of suspected drug dealers. And right there, in those streets, chaos erupted, with residents and the victim's relatives clamoring for "justice" and chanting anti-police chants. A dramatic video captures the man's final moments as he screams "enough, help!" until he loses consciousness before the eyes of officers and several emergency responders who arrived on the scene. The Bologna police headquarters announced that the police officers' bodycams will immediately be made available to the prosecutor Domenico Ambrosino.
It's late morning on a sultry summer Sunday when some residents of Pilastro alert the police to the presence of a man acting out in a garage on Via Svevo. He's Abderrahim Fakir, the owner of a porterage business, who had arrived in Pilastro to visit some relatives. A patrol car and an ambulance arrive on the scene. The officers attempt to calm the man, but he lunges at them, even kicking the car. At that point, the officers reportedly first used pepper spray and then pinned the man to the ground, holding his wrists behind his back with their knees in an attempt to handcuff him. These tense moments are captured on video recorded by one of the residents who witnessed the arrest from his window.
"Enough, help!" he can be heard screaming. The police officers try to restrain him, but the man continues to struggle while a third person, likely a resident, helps them by pinning the 42-year-old's ankles. Shortly thereafter, he appears unconscious. One of the officers tries to check on him, but gets no response. These dramatic minutes were witnessed by at least two of the emergency responders who arrived on the scene, but they are never seen intervening in the video, except after the now unconscious man is tied at the wrists and ankles. The Bologna Local Health Authority has ordered an internal investigation to shed light on the incident. "I won't rest until my brother is avenged. I won't rest," Abderrahim's sister says desperately. "We don't know what happened, they, the police, know. We got the call that he was dead. They handcuffed him, and he died. They attacked him. They killed him and beat him; there are witnesses." Many residents poured into the streets and chanted anti-police chants. Only the intervention of the victim's brother, who lived with him, managed to calm things down.
