Bodycam footage shows contact with another person before police restrained Abderrahim Fakir in Bologna

The day of the intervention

On Sunday 19 July 2026, Abderrahim Fakir, a 42-year-old Moroccan man living in the Bolognese area, was seen in via Svevo, in the Pilastro district of Bologna, barefoot and in evident confusion. Videos shot by residents and later acquired by prosecutors show him lying on the asphalt near a staircase, shouting and thrashing. No bystander intervened. Police arrived shortly after noon and, according to multiple accounts, waited between 30 and 40 minutes trying to calm him verbally. The situation changed when Fakir allegedly threw himself against a passing car. At that point, the two officers tackled him, sprayed pepper spray at close range, and handcuffed his hands behind his back and his ankles. He lost consciousness and, despite resuscitation efforts by Red Cross volunteers, was pronounced dead before 1 p.m.

Bodycam footage and the police defense

A bodycam privately owned by one of the officers recorded the entire sequence. The footage, broadcast by Tg1, shows the officers' hands on both Fakir and another man in a white shirt with whom he had come into contact. Gabriele Bordoni, the lawyer representing the two officers, argued that this contact justified the physical intervention.

There is a moment of contact with other people who were near a car and who come into contact with him. At that point it is clear that the police must intervene and resolve this situation.

Bordoni also revealed that the officers immediately called the 118 emergency number requesting an ambulance with a doctor for a person in "psychic crisis," but the dispatch centre replied that no doctor was available. The recorded call has been handed over to prosecutors. The defense has viewed and retained a copy of the bodycam video because it belongs to the officer; the victim's family has also requested access.

Family outrage and the resuscitation video

Fakir's relatives have demanded accountability. His niece, Yossra Fakir, issued a statement calling for transparency.

Abderrahim Fakir was a good man, and his life had value. We ask for full light on what happened. We ask for clarity, truth, justice. We will not stay silent, but we will continue to tell the person he was, to defend his name and to preserve his memory, because he deserves respect, truth and justice and above all humanity.

His wife, interviewed by Moroccan television ChoufTV, said, "They executed him. This is a crime against humanity, a terrible crime. Today it happened to him, tomorrow it could happen to our children." A separate 1-minute-14-second video, provided by the family's legal team, shows the resuscitation attempt: Fakir lies on the ground, still bound at the ankles and with his arms tied behind his back, while four Red Cross rescuers perform chest compressions and ventilation, with defibrillator pads attached. Fabio Anselmo, the family's lawyer, condemned the scene.

His face is bloodied and has dark brown stains from the pepper spray sprayed from very close. Resuscitation takes place while he is still tied: this is not admissible, because the officers should have freed him.

Investigation and next steps

The Bologna prosecutor's office, headed by Paolo Guido with prosecutors Francesca Arienti and Domenico Ambrosino, has opened a manslaughter inquiry. The autopsy, set for Friday 24 July, will determine the cause of death, the origin of injuries, and whether resuscitation procedures were correctly performed. Investigators have also collected Fakir's medical records, including a 20 June emergency room visit for a psychiatric episode with self-inflicted wrist wounds. The bodycam recording, resident videos, and the 118 call log form the core of the evidence.