Video of Moroccan man dying while pinned down by Italian police sparks anger, investigation

Rome — The death of a 42-year-old man as he was being detained by Italian police in Bologna during an encounter captured on video has sparked public outrage and a formal investigation, with calls for renewed scrutiny of police tactics.

The man, identified by Italian media as Moroccan-born Abderrahim Fakir, died Sunday after officers attempted to place him under arrest in the northern Italian city.

According to the Bologna police, officers responded to reports of a man behaving erratically and damaging parked cars. In a statement, the police said Fakir resisted the two officers, who sprayed him with pepper spray in an effort to subdue him. 

Videos recorded by witnesses from nearby apartment buildings, shared widely on Italian television and social media, show the two officers and a third man restraining Fakir on the ground, face down, after he was handcuffed.

Fakir can be heard repeatedly calling out for help and pleading for the officers to stop before he becomes unresponsive. Members of an emergency medical team are also visible, standing back during the struggle.

After Fakir falls silent, the officers finish binding his ankles and the medical personnel turn his body over and appear to check for vital signs.

The Bologna prosecutor's office has ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death and has opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, a standard procedure in Italy whenever someone dies during a police operation.

Investigators are expected to examine whether the restraint contributed to Fakir's death or whether other factors, including a possible medical emergency or drug intoxication, played a role.

The two officers involved will continue to work during the investigation.

The videos have drawn widespread attention across Italy, with civil rights advocates and opposition politicians calling for a full and transparent investigation.

"We can't stay silent in the face of a death of this magnitude, which happened while a man in difficulty was in the hands of the Police," Annalisa Corrado, a leading figure in the opposition Democratic Party, said in a statement. "We ask for full clarity on the matter: that the ongoing investigations determine what really happened and that all possible responsibilities are ascertained, and that serious work is done on the training of the Police when restraint maneuvers are necessary."

Matteo Salvini, a deputy prime minister and head of the right-wing Lega Party, appeared to defend the police.

"I am counting on the judiciary to clarify the situation as soon as possible, to prevent mud-slinging by people who do not understand what happened and have no respect for those who risk their lives to protect ours," he said. "Clearly, no one wanted anyone to die."

The case has renewed debate over police use of force, particularly the use of prolonged prone restraint, in which a suspect is held face down on the ground.

According to Italian media reports, Fakir owned a moving and cleaning business and had a few employees. His sister Khadija Fakira said she would search for the truth about what happened.

"They killed my brother in cold blood, without pity," she said in a message posted on social media. "We want justice for my brother."

Fakir's older brother Mohamad told Italian media he was "a good guy who never hurt anyone, and his death was ignoble."

Attorney Barbara Spinelli, who says she met Fakir at the end of 2025 when he contacted her over fear that he could be deported, told Italy's national ANSA news agency that he was "an extremely kind, polite, and respectful person."

She said Fakir had lived in Italy since he was a child, and that he had nothing to fear regarding deportation as his documentation was in order.

"He is the last of my clients for whom I would have imagined such an end," she said.

Italy has faced similar controversies in the past. The deaths of Federico Aldrovandi in 2005 and Stefano Cucchi in 2009, both in police custody, became defining cases that led to years of legal proceedings, calls for greater police accountability, and reforms in custody procedures.

Police unions have urged people not to draw conclusions based on the videos alone while investigators complete their work, noting that officers are often required to make rapid decisions in volatile situations.

Bologna's Mayor Matteo Lepore, and the Democratic Party he's a member of, issued calls for people to come together Monday evening in the city to "ask for truth and justice" over Fakir's death.