Meloni urges ‘implacable’ accountability after Milan officer’s arrest in Rogoredo killing as opposition demands briefing

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for the “implacable” pursuit of wrongdoing and praised investigators probing their own ranks after a Milan police officer was arrested on a voluntary homicide charge in the fatal January 26 shooting of Abderrahim Mansouri in the Rogoredo area, a site widely known as the city’s “drug woods.”

In a written statement, Meloni said she read “with dismay” the latest developments concerning officer Carmelo Cinturrino, who was taken into custody on suspicion of voluntary homicide in connection with the shooting. She noted that investigators hypothesize the crime may be linked to dynamics of the local narcotics trade in which the officer who fired would also be involved. “If what is hypothesized were confirmed, we would be faced with a very serious matter, a betrayal of the Nation and of the dignity and honor of our law enforcement,” she said, adding that with those who err—“all the more so if they wear that uniform”—authorities “must be implacable.” Meloni expressed gratitude to the State Police, which she said are conducting the inquiry into their own agents on delegation from the Milan prosecutor’s office, and stressed that justice will take its course, adding there is no “penal shield.”

The case has swiftly escalated into a political confrontation. Opposition parties have requested an urgent briefing to the Chamber of Deputies by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on the state of the investigation and on public statements made after the arrest. Among them, Green alliance leader Angelo Bonelli accused the government of making political use of the case and called for apologies from Meloni, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, Minister Piantedosi and parliamentary leader Galeazzo Bignami for how the matter was handled publicly. Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein described the shooting as a tragedy around which immediate political speculation took hold, accusing Meloni and Salvini of exploiting the episode to attack the judiciary ahead of a constitutional referendum.

The shooting occurred on January 26 in Rogoredo, in southern Milan, where police have long targeted a wooded tract associated with street-level drug dealing. Mansouri was fatally shot during an operation in the area. The officer’s subsequent arrest and the prosecutors’ working hypotheses have intensified scrutiny of police conduct there, even as government leaders sought to distinguish between alleged individual misconduct and the broader service of law enforcement.

Much remains unresolved. The allegations outlined by investigators have not been tested in court, and the investigation is ongoing. Authorities have not disclosed a full account of the moments leading to the fatal shot, and it is unclear when the Interior Minister will address lawmakers. For now, the case sits at the intersection of criminal inquiry and institutional accountability, with both the government and the opposition framing its outcome as consequential for public trust in policing and the justice system.