Naples - An investigation into negligent excessive use of weapons. This is the alleged crime being investigated by the Naples Prosecutor's Office following the death of Antony Ihaza Ehogonoh, 35, last Monday during a Carabinieri operation in the Chiaia neighborhood.
Five members of the Carabinieri have been registered as suspects, a move investigators described as "obligatory" to allow them to participate in the technical investigations and defend themselves with their consultants during the autopsy.
The investigation is being coordinated by Public Prosecutor Barbara Aprea, from the team led by Deputy Prosecutor Raffaello Falcone. The autopsy was commissioned yesterday, and will be performed on Tuesday. Consultants appointed by the victim's family—assisted by attorneys Luigi and Francesco Tuccillo—and by the apartment's owner, represented by attorney Luigi Carrino, will also participate in the report.
The dynamics of the episode
According to initial reconstructions, the Carabinieri had responded to Via Fornelli that morning after receiving a report of a man "clearly agitated." Antony, an Italian citizen of foreign origin, was displaying behavior deemed dangerous to himself and those around him.
During their attempt to subdue him, the officers reportedly followed operational protocol: first they talked, then they used pepper spray, and finally they used a taser. Immobilized, the man was loaded into an ambulance to be taken to the hospital. But he never made it there.
Neighbors witnesses In recent days, they told the Campania news program TGR that he was already dying during the ambulance ride and that he was seen foaming at the mouth.
The man died on the way, possibly due to cardiac arrest, although only an autopsy will be able to determine whether his death was related to the use of the stun gun or to other previous causes.
The words of the companion
“I want to know who is responsible and why he died like this,” said the 35-year-old’s partner, demanding truth and justice.
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Regardless of the judicial findings, the episode reignites the debate over the use of Tasers by law enforcement, a weapon classified as "less lethal" but which, in recent years, has repeatedly been at the center of controversy and investigations.
Other cases in Italy
The Naples case is not an isolated incident. In Italy, at least five deaths have been recorded in recent months after Taser use by police or Carabinieri.
In July 2024, a 41-year-old man died in Milan after being shocked by electricity during a containment operation: an autopsy was also ordered to clarify the role of the Taser in the causal chain of death.
A few weeks earlier, in Turin, a 39-year-old man had died of cardiac arrest shortly after being arrested, while in Florence, in 2023, the death of a Nigerian citizen who had been hit with a Taser had raised questions about the training of operators and the actual safety of the device.
Other cases have occurred in Rome and Crotone, with similar dynamics: agitated individuals, intervention by the police, use of the electrical device, and deaths shortly thereafter.
According to ministerial guidelines, the taser It should be used as a last resort to apprehend violent or dangerous individuals, avoiding prolonged or close use. However, the prosecutors investigating the various incidents also intend to verify the efficiency and maintenance of the electronic equipment to rule out technical malfunctions.
A debate still open
Introduced nationwide in 2022, the Taser was presented as a guarantee of officer safety and a non-lethal alternative to firearms. But recent cases show that the line between deterrence and lethal risk can be thin, especially when involving individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, substance abuse, or mentally or physically impaired states.
The Interior Minister, already after the first incidents, announced a review of operational protocols and more specific training for operators. However, the string of suspicious deaths now requires a broader reflection: on the appropriateness of using Tasers, on the transparency of investigations, and on the need to balance public safety and the protection of human life.
Comments (1)
It's sad to hear that another person has died during a law enforcement intervention. It would be important to better understand what really happened and whether the Taser is actually safe. Justice must be served.