The video of the arrest at gunpoint of footballer Tiémoué Bakayoko by the Italian police has gone viral on social networks, where the police have been branded "racist".
In the face of the reactions, the police have justified what happened as a check that "took place in an operational context that justified the adoption of the highest security measures" and that "was carried out in an absolutely consistent manner", according to Italian media. The events took place on July 3.
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The scene shown in the video reflects the detention on July 3 by three police officers of the 27-year-old player, who is French but of Ivorian origins, while he was driving through the center of Milan in a black SUV.
The video shows how, while one officer proceeded to frisk him, the other two officers held the other members of the car at gunpoint, a scene that stopped when the officers realized that it was the midfielder.
After the recognition, they let the player and his companions go, after a few pats on the back, an ending that has aroused the anger of users on social networks who have labeled it "racist".
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"The images of Bakayoko's detention suggest ethnic profiling. A discriminatory practice that in a non-famous person could have had serious consequences," wrote the NGO Amnesty International.
According to police, the reason for the check was because the vehicle Bakayoko was driving matched a suspicious SUV that had fled a shooting in the area, Italian media reported.
