Two fatal incidents involving police tasers have sparked controversy over the weapon’s role in public safety operations. Within two days last weekend, individuals died in Olbia, Sardinia, and Genoa, Liguria, after being shocked with the electroshock devices used by law enforcement.
Carabinieri officers deployed the tasers in both cases. Prosecutors in Tempio Pausania and Genoa are now investigating four officers—two stationed in Olbia (the patrol leader and the officer who fired the taser) and two in Genoa—for negligent homicide. This procedural step allows the officers to participate in technical investigations with their legal counsel.
Carabinieri General Commander Salvatore Luongo expressed “unconditional support” for the involved officers in a letter to all personnel, disclosed by the USMIA union. An autopsy on Gianpaolo Demartis, 57, is scheduled for Thursday, August 21st, in Tempio Pausania. Demartis, who suffered from a heart condition according to relatives, went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance en route to hospital after being tasered Saturday evening in Olbia’s Santa Mariedda district.
The Tempio Prosecutor’s investigation follows two tracks: precisely determining the cause of death and reconstructing the incident’s details. Maria Paola Marro, the Milan-based military law attorney representing the Olbia officers, stated her clients are “deeply saddened” but acted “in full compliance with procedures” and “proportionately to protect their safety and citizens’ safety.” She emphasized the taser was used to avoid deploying firearms during an escalating situation where the subject ignored warnings and became uncontrollable, adding that the patrol leader was assaulted and injured.
Separately, a 47-year-old Albanian citizen died Sunday afternoon in Manesseno, near Genoa, reportedly from cardiac arrest after being tasered. Carabinieri responded to neighbors’ reports of threats. The man, seemingly intoxicated, initially retreated into his building but later became violent, threatening paramedics and then attacking arriving officers. All responders sustained injuries requiring hospital treatment.
The Independent Carabinieri Union stated the officer in Olbia warned Demartis three times before using the taser.
The consecutive deaths have intensified scrutiny of taser deployment. League party leader and Minister Matteo Salvini defended the Carabinieri on Facebook, stating they “were defending themselves and attacked citizens, simply doing their duty.” His party colleague, Undersecretary of the Interior Nicola Molteni, called the taser “effective and fundamental for deterrence and officer safety,” warning against “instrumentalizing” the incidents. Conversely, Sardinia’s Guarantor for Prisoners condemned the weapon as “legalized torture.”