The investigation into the Falchi unit of Rimini’s local police force is widening. Two more officers have been placed under investigation on charges of aiding and abetting, after prosecutors alleged they tried to protect colleagues by giving investigators false statements.
The two had been questioned by Italy’s Guardia di Finanza (financial police) as persons with knowledge of the facts. Their accounts, however, failed to convince investigators, who suspect an attempt to shield the eight officers already implicated in the probe.
Meanwhile, a ruling is awaited from preliminary investigations judge Raffaella Ceccarelli on the prosecution’s request to suspend the eight officers from duty. The officers, questioned in recent days, have rejected the allegations, insisting they always acted within the rules.
The charges against them range from forgery of official documents to defamation, and from unlawful coercion to assault, depending on the individual case. In the meantime, all eight officers have been reassigned to other duties.
At the heart of the investigation are a number of roadside checks carried out by plainclothes officers using unmarked cars. According to investigators, in several instances the officers failed to properly identify themselves and filed service reports containing false accounts, attributing to motorists attempts to flee or aggressive behaviour that never actually occurred.
The investigation was triggered by a complaint from a lawyer, one of the motorists allegedly involved. The Guardia di Finanza subsequently cross-checked the officers’ reports against witness testimony.
The defence teams dispute this reconstruction, arguing that the officers used clearly visible identification tools, such as paddles and reflective vests, and that there was no doubt about their status as law enforcement officers.
