A 25-year-old Italian student, originally from Spoleto, Matteo Falcinelli, was violently arrested in Florida.
According to La Nazione, the arrest took place under very aggressive circumstances: first the young man was thrown to the ground, with his face pressed to the asphalt while an officer kept his knee on his neck.
Then, once at the North Miami Beach police station, four officers allegedly tied him up with the “Hogtie restraint” technique. The Nation reports that the student, who was in the United States for a master’s degree at Florida International University, remained in this position for 13 minutes.
The arrest took place during the night between February 24 and 25, but Falcinelli's family has decided to make the incident public only now, after the trial ended with his admission to the PTI (Pre Trial Intervention), a re-education program that allows the four charges to be dropped: resisting a public official, opposing arrest without violence, and trespassing.
The scenes of violence were reportedly captured on bodycams worn by officers, including those inside the police station, recordings of which Falcinelli's lawyer was only able to obtain from the prosecutor's office on April 12. The family now intends to file a formal complaint.
The reconstruction of the arrest, as told by La Nazione, begins around 22:15 PM in a place where Falcinelli had gone alone and had some drinks. After drinking a rum and coke, the young man realizes he is in a strip bar and refuses the offers of sex from the girls there.
When he goes to the bathroom, he discovers that his two cell phones are missing and begins to look for them. After finding them at the entrance of the club, he returns to the counter to get the drinks he previously ordered. The situation becomes confusing, and Falcinelli does not remember how he ended up outside the club, where he was stopped by the police.
According to the police, the young man caused trouble inside the club and resisted arrest. Falcinelli, however, claims he never paid the $500 that the police mention in their reports.
Falcinelli's family intends to pursue the matter legally, highlighting the brutality with which the young man was treated during his arrest.
Article published on May 5, 2024 - 09:34 pm
