Italian officers involved in Moroccan migrant’s death return to desk duty as investigation continues

Italian media reports indicate that the police officers involved in the death of Moroccan migrant Abderrahim Fakir have returned to duty, while authorities have begun examining bodycam footage that documented the fatal encounter.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bologna is continuing its investigation into the death of the 42-year-old Moroccan national, who died on July 19 during a police intervention on Italo Svevo Street in the Pilastro area. The case is currently being investigated under charges of manslaughter.

According to the local Bologna edition of La Repubblica, the officers involved have returned to work, but have been reassigned to desk duty rather than active patrols pending further developments in the case. Their defense lawyer described both officers as being “distressed” by the incident.

On Monday, a critical phase of the investigation commenced when experts from the Carabinieri’s Scientific Investigation Department (RIS) in Rome began analyzing a forensic copy of the patrol leader’s bodycam. The recording contains 40 minutes of video documenting the intervention. To ensure the footage is properly secured as legal evidence, each party involved in the case has appointed a dedicated technical consultant to monitor the data extraction process.

Italian media previously disclosed preliminary results from a six-hour autopsy, which found “blood in the lungs” that likely caused Fakir to asphyxiate. The medical examination also revealed “signs of pressure on the lungs.”

Lawyer Fabio Anselmo stated that the initial findings clearly point to “asphyxiation resulting from the officers’ compression, which caused the lungs to fill with blood.” Anselmo added that these results corroborate pre-autopsy imaging, suggesting Fakir died from an airway obstruction after his chest was compressed against the asphalt for approximately five minutes while officers restrained him.