Meloni government backtracks after defending police officer arrested for murdering drug dealer

 ROME --Carmelo Cinturrino, a Rogoredo police officer, was arrested on charges of voluntary homicide of Abderrahim Mansouri, 28, on Jan. 26, according to police sources in the Rogoredo distrtict of Milan. Cinturinno has admitted to placing the gun next to Mansouri. “I put the gun next to Mansouri because I feared the consequences of what had happened.", il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper quoted him as saying. 

The case has turned into a boomerang for the Meloni government which initally strongly defended the police officer saying he was a victim of left wing prosecutors.  

 An 18-page arrest warrant has been released by Milan Prosecutor Marcello Viola and Public Prosecutor Giovanni Tarzia stating that Cinturrino caused the death of Mansouri by firing a gun  "knowingly and voluntarily directed at the victim's body, in the absence of any justification whatsoever." 

 After firing at Mansouri, Cinturrino feared the consequences of his actions and planted a gun next to the victim's body to make it falsely appear as though the shot was fired in self defence. The first witness, Cinturrino’s colleague, present at the scene of the crime, stated “Mansouri was unarmed, that he had a phone in one hand and a rock in the other, that he was hit while he was about to run away, and that, once hit, he fell face-first.” 

 Mansouri was found face up with the gun lying next to him after the false staging of the crime. Cinturrino's colleague continued to describe the events of the tampering “Cinturrino immediately gave me the keys to the car, the Fiat Panda he arrived in, ordering me to go to the police station and get the briefcase , the one usually used by patrol leaders . I followed the order and went to the police station and took the briefcase. It's actually a black bag with the Italian coat of arms. It belongs to Cinturrino, and as I said, I recognize it because of that coat of arms. I put the briefcase in the trunk of the car and returned to Via Impastato , where Cinturrino was waiting for me. He immediately opened the trunk and took something from the bag; he had something in one hand, I don't remember which one, it was a black object (...). Cinturrino ran back toward Mansouri (...). I went back toward the body, and only then did I see that near the body, near the right hand, there was a gun." 

 Cinturrino waited 22 minutes before alerting emergency services although prosecutors state that Mansouri was still showing signs of life. Had Cinturrino followed protocol Mansouri’s life potentially could have been saved. 

 Cinturinno and Mansouri had a complex history, which is raising questions about the motive of the murder. Allegedly Cinturinno had attempted to bribe Mansouri by asking the 28-year old for protection money and drugs, however Mansouri had refused the request. It is believed that Cinturinno may have been targeting Mansouri due to fear that he would denounce him. 

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made a statement regarding the incident. "I read with dismay the latest developments on the killing of a drug dealer in the notorious 'drug grove' of Rogoredo" and "if what has been hypothesised finds confirmation in the subsequent investigations, we would find ourselves in front of a very serious fact, a deception towards the nation and the dignity and honour of our Police Forces".