Police arrested Officer Carmelo Cinturrino on charges of killing Abderrahim Mansouri on January 26 in the Rogoredo woods, in Milan.

Cinturrino claimed immediately after the incident that he fired a shot—which fatally wounded Mansouri in the head—because he was threatened with a gun. He therefore claimed self-defense. However, the investigation, including statements from the four officers present with Cinturrino at the drug-dealing checkpoint and under investigation for aiding and abetting and failing to provide assistance, confirmed that the gun, a blank-firing replica, was later placed at the crime scene. Cinturrino did not call for help until 23 minutes later.

Further investigations revealed that the victim was afraid of the officer and wanted to report him because he allegedly extorted money, demanding protection money, drugs, and up to €200 and five grams of cocaine a day. "Cinturrino had a grudge against Mansouri. There's a risk he could kill again and try to tamper with evidence," investigators maintain.

On the replica of the gun found next to Mansouri's body, no traces of the victim's DNA were found, only those of Cinturrino, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Giovanni Tarzia, explained at a press conference.

“I put the gun next to Mansouri because I feared the consequences of what had happened,” Cinturrino said during a prison interview with his lawyer, Piero Porciani.

(Unioneonline)