The autopsy will be carried out late on the morning of Thursday 21 August on the body of Gianpaolo Demartis, the 57-year-old man, originally from Bultei, who died after being tasered by the Carabinieri in Olbia .
The announcement comes from the Tempio Prosecutor's Office , where the investigation into the case is being conducted by Prosecutor Gregorio Capasso . The investigation is now in the hands of the police.
"Specific investigations have already been carried out and are still underway to accurately reconstruct the dynamics of the incident," the statement from the Prosecutor's Office further specifies.
THE RECONSTRUCTION – The incident dates back to Saturday night, when a Carabinieri patrol intervened in the Santa Mariedda district following calls from several citizens reporting assaults by a man.
The man continued to rage and then lunged at the officers, who used a taser to stop him . He then collapsed to the ground and died of cardiac arrest while an ambulance was taking him to the hospital.
The victim, 57-year-old Gianpaolo Demartis, had a criminal record : he was finishing up a sentence for drug dealing. He had been arrested in 2020 in Sassari and was on probation. His family reported that he had a heart condition.
According to initial reports, the man—who appeared to be highly intoxicated from alcohol and/or drug use— stealthily entered two homes on Via San Michele and then began harassing passersby. At that point, emergency services were called. During the frantic response, he also struck a Carabinieri officer, causing several facial injuries. Uniformed personnel then decided to use a stun gun to stop the attack.
THE CONTROVERSY – Controversy has already erupted over the incident and the use of the Taser—a weapon introduced as a law enforcement weapon in 2022 after a lengthy trial period. This has led to a heated exchange between regional prison ombudsman Irene Testa and Northern League MP Dario Giagoni , and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini intervened in defense of the Carabinieri . The independent Carabinieri union, SIC, expressed solidarity with their colleagues, believing they "acted professionally, adhering to the operational procedures established for interventions involving individuals in a serious state of mental or physical impairment and engaging in behavior that is highly dangerous to the community."
This morning, a new attack on Irene Testa came from FdI MP Salvatore Deidda, who asked "in what capacity" Testa intervened in the matter . "As Guarantor or as secretary of the Radicals?" Deidda asked. "She should remember that she holds an institutional office, and every time she speaks or takes a position, it is by virtue of that office. Therefore, she should be careful with her words and not misuse her role with personal battles over the Taser or against our law enforcement."
(Unioneonline)