Ravenna, September 3, 2026 – Three and a half minutes of video, a hectic scene in the heart of the shopping mall, six people engaged on the ground to restrain a man. And, around, customers with their carts stop to watch. The images of the arrest that took place on August 14 at the Esp in Ravenna have started circulating on social media, reigniting a debate destined to split in two: on one side those who talk about excessive intervention, on the other those who defend the carabinieri and recall why they intervened.
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The video of the arrest
In the footage you can see two Carabinieri officers engaged in restraining a man with braids, helped by four security staff of the shopping mall, some of whom wear white uniforms. The man struggles, screams, tries to break free. A voice from the crowd comments: “This is abuse of power.” Another claims that “he did nothing wrong” and that the carabinieri arrived “out of nowhere.”
The man shouts: “Abuse of power, help”
The scene is anything but calm. The officers try to contain him while he shouts “abuse of power, help.” At one point, with his face turned towards the floor, he repeats several times: “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe! They’re killing me.” Then again: “Murderers,” “Set me free immediately.” When he is already handcuffed and the carabinieri are standing, he continues to protest: he says he suffers from asthma and asks to be let go. “This is Italy, in front of everyone’s eyes,” he shouts.
The scene in front of the customers
Meanwhile, the scene continues among the aisles and spaces of the shopping mall. Some watch, some film. The man is finally escorted out with difficulty, even losing his slippers during the route. The video ends like this, with the officers and the Esp staff leading him outside. But there is a part of the story that is not in the images.
The carabinieri’s reconstruction
According to the reconstruction provided at the time by the carabinieri, the Radiomobile officers had intervened at the Esp for an attempted aggravated theft. A 24-year-old, after stealing accessories worth several hundred euros, had been stopped by security personnel and the carabinieri. During identification, again according to the Carabinieri, he was in an evident state of psychophysical agitation and allegedly resisted, including physically, against the officers. One of them had sustained injuries judged to heal in a few days. This is where the gap between the images and the interpretations arises. The video shows the most hectic moment of the intervention, but does not tell what preceded it. And social media, as often happens, have turned into a parallel court.
The controversies on social media
“I can’t breathe and it becomes a scene,” someone writes. “Abuse of power? You have a serious problem,” replies another. And again: “What were they supposed to do, arrive there and politely ask for the wrists so we can put on the handcuffs?” Someone calls the man “a failed actor,” while others harshly criticize those who published the video and defend the actions of the carabinieri.
The Fakir case in Bologna
The issue inevitably fits into a climate made even more delicate by what happened in Bologna on July 19, when the 42-year-old of Moroccan origin Abderrahim Fakir died during a containment and restraint intervention by the police in the Pilastro district. Two different episodes, in dynamics and outcome, but united by the attention that today accompanies every image of a man restrained by law enforcement. At the Esp, on August 14, the arrest ended with the man taken away and an officer injured. Weeks later, however, the scene continues to live on the web. Three minutes of images turned into thousands of comments. And a question that runs from one screen to another: where does the legitimate reaction to an arrest end and where does abuse begin? An answer that cannot fit only inside a three-minute video.
