Four police officers subdued a trans-identified male this week after he allegedly exhibited a disturbed outburst in front of a public school in Milan, Italy. Trans activists are now calling the arrest “transphobic,” and claiming police used undue force on an “unarmed trans woman.”
The incident occurred Wednesday morning just as children entered the Istituto Comprensivo Casa Del Sole, a primary school near Trotter Park. The trans-identified male, who is reported to be a Brazilian national, reportedly exposed his genitals in front of the children as they filed in for class. The man, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, is reported to be without Italian residency.
According to Il Giorno, the man began shouting obscenities at the people in front of the school, saying he would “infect them with his blood” and that he was HIV positive.
Police were called to the scene at approximately 8:15 am, and arrived with ambulance support. Officers were quickly able to apprehend the man and placed him in a police vehicle with the intention of driving him to the nearby station. While in the car, the Brazilian reportedly attempted to self-harm with hair pins in an effort to cause himself to bleed, claiming he wanted to “infect everyone” with HIV/AIDS.
The transport didn’t make it very far before police stopped the vehicle after seeing the trans-identified male “collapse” in the backseat. TG LA7 reported that the concerned officers exited the car and opened the rear doors to check on the suspect, but were violently attacked in response.
The suspect, who had ostensibly faked an injury in order to force the car to stop, kicked one officer and ran, resulting in a chase on foot. When one of the officers managed to grab him, the suspect lashed out violently, shoving the officer to the ground and continuing to run. Il Giorno reports that another officer jumped on a civilian’s scooter to catch up with the suspect, using pepper-spray to finally stop him.
The officers then struck the trans-identified male with their batons after finally surrounding him in a parking lot.
The final part of the shocking interaction was caught in phone camera footage taken by a group of Bocconi University students. The video was later posted on social media, with some Twitter users accusing police of using excessive force on a “helpless trans person.” Other users began spreading the narrative that the Brazilian was attacked simply for being “transgender.”
Rula Jebreal, a Palestinian journalist currently serving as a visiting professor at the University of Miami, appeared to blame critics of gender ideology for the incident, writing: “3 Italian police brutally assaulted, pepper sprayed, and kicked an unarmed trans-woman in Milan. Criminalizing & inciting violence against ‘transgenderism’ has lethal consequences… the so called ‘gender ideology’ is used to justify Gov’t discrimination.”
Jebreal did not respond to Italian-speakers in the comments providing additional context to the footage and linking to news reports.
3 Italian police brutally assaulted, pepper sprayed and kicked an unarmed trans-woman in Milan.
— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) May 24, 2023
Criminalizing & inciting violence against “transgenderism” has lethal consequences… the so called “gender ideology” is used to justify Gov’t discrimination.pic.twitter.com/9H7M4aLqKo
Some foreign media outlets similarly reported the incident as a “transphobic” attack by police, failing to provide information on why police had been called to the scene.
Amidst the backlash towards the officers, the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, said the incident was under investigation and that the officers had been placed on office duty in the meantime. But Daniel Vincini, president of the police union, stood firm and reiterated to local media that officers were called in response to a complaint that the Brazilian man was harassing children.
“The police did their duty, preventing that person from hurting the children at a school. Our lawyers are ready to support them,” Vincini said.
Left-wing politicians in Italy have already called for the case to be brought to the Chamber of Deputies — Italy’s lower house of Parliament — for review.
“I intend to go all the way on this matter,” Ilaria Cucchi of the Italian Left Party told Adnkronos. “The perpetrators of this violence should not think they will get away with it.”
Onorio Rosati, a regional councilor in Lombardy, called for the officers involved in the incident to be punished, stating: “Immediately crush this violence. Any crime that woman has committed is not justified by this violence.”
The Milan prosecutor’s office has opened a file to investigate the allegations that the police used undue force.
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