Murder of Riccardo Rasman

Events

On 27 October 2006, shortly after 8 pm, Riccardo Rasman was in his apartment at Via Grego 38. He had been listening to music at high volume and, after going out naked onto the balcony, threw two firecrackers into the internal courtyard; one exploded near a girl without injuring her. Rasman suffered from paranoid schizophrenic syndrome due to bullying during his military service. He was likely in a state of happiness and agitation because he was to start a job as an environmental operator the next day.

Following a report to 113, two patrol cars arrived, totaling four officers. Rasman, who had dressed and lain in bed with the light off, refused to open, possibly intimidated by a 1999 fight with police that led to a complaint against two officers. After the fire brigade intervened, the officers entered and found Rasman sitting on the bed. A heated fight ensued, and Rasman was immobilized on the ground, handcuffed behind his back, and tied to his ankles with wire.

Despite being handcuffed, the officers continued holding him prone for several minutes. Rasman began breathing heavily and wheezing, became cyanotic, and suffered respiratory arrest. He was declared dead between 8:43 pm and 9:04 pm. Paramedics found him handcuffed with his hands behind his back, ankles immobilized with wire, and showing serious injuries and signs of being gagged.

The officers had exerted excessive pressure on his trunk, reducing his breathing capacity and causing death by asphyxiation.

Investigation

An official investigation was opened, entrusted to public prosecutor Pietro Montrone, who delegated the investigation to the same police officers involved in the fight. The investigation closed in October 2007 with a request for archiving, as the magistrate considered the officers had acted in fulfillment of duty, despite ascertaining that Rasman's death was caused by postural asphyxia from their actions. On 28 February 2008, the investigating judge did not accept the archiving request.

The prosecutor changed his orientation after defensive investigations presented by Rasman's lawyers and evidence that the four officers knew Rasman was being treated at the Domio Mental Health Centre. This knowledge should have prompted more caution and a request for a specialized operator. The legitimacy of breaking down the door was contested, as Rasman had stopped throwing firecrackers and was calm in bed. A note found in the kitchen, allegedly written by Rasman before the police arrived, read: 'Please, please, I beg you, don't hurt me, I haven't done anything wrong'.

The four officers—Francesca Gatti, Mauro Miraz, Maurizio Mis, and Giuseppe De Biasi—were investigated and sent to trial for manslaughter.

Trials

On 29 January 2009, three officers—Mauro Miraz, Maurizio Mis, and Giuseppe De Biasi—were sentenced in an abbreviated trial to six months in prison for negligent homicide, with a suspended sentence, and ordered to pay a provisional sum of 60,000 Euro. Officer Francesca Gatti was acquitted with a dubitative formula, as she had been in radio contact with the operations room during the restraint. Compensation of 20,000 Euro for moral damages was ordered for the civil party.

On 30 June 2010, the Court of Appeal of Trieste confirmed the six-month sentence for the three officers and the acquittal of the fourth. Both sides appealed to the Supreme Court.

On 14 December 2011, the Court of Cassation confirmed the conviction, stating in its reasons that Rasman's death was 'peacefully avoidable if the officers had interrupted the activity of violent restraint on the ground of Rasman, allowing him to breathe'. In April 2015, the court of Trieste ordered the Ministry of the Interior and the three officers to pay one million two hundred thousand euros to Rasman's family. The family's lawyer appealed, considering the amount insufficient.

Aftermath

Following the Court of Cassation ruling, the Rasman family's lawyers formally requested an apology from the Ministry of the Interior and announced a civil action. They also requested a new medical-legal assessment based on photos of Rasman's body showing signs from the corners of his mouth to his ears, raising doubt that he was suffocated in addition to being asphyxiated by the officers' weight. This detail had not emerged in the criminal trial. The lawyers also filed a compensation claim of 2 million euros against the two firefighters who helped tie Rasman with wire.