AC Milan's Bakayoko says Italy police stop could have ended badly
Soccer Football - Serie A - U.S. Sassuolo v AC Milan - Mapei Stadium - Citta del Tricolore, Reggio Emilia, Italy - May 22, 2022 AC Milan's Tiemoue Bakayoko celebrates with a cigar after winning the Serie A REUTERS/Alberto Lingria
Audio By Vocalize
AC Milan midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko said Wednesday that
Italian police who pulled him from his car at gunpoint this month after
mistaking him for a shooting suspect "clearly put our lives in
danger".
A video of the July 3 police stop that went viral earlier
this month showed the French midfielder with his hands up in the air and
pressed to a patrol car being searched by a policeman.
The video shows another officer pointing her pistol at an
unseen passenger still inside Bakayoko's car during the search. After a few
moments, another officer approaches Bakayoko and the policeman patting him
down, says something, and the policeman releases Bakayoko.
Following the publication of the video, Milan police said
Bakayoko and his passenger had been pulled over because they resembled the
description of two suspects in a shooting case and denied the control was
racial profiling.
"The error is human, I have no problem with it, on the
other hand I have a problem with the manner and methodology that were
used," the player said in a video posted on his Instagram account.
"The consequences could have been so much more serious
if I had not kept my cool," he said. "What would have happened if I
hadn't had the chance to do the job I do and be recognised in time? What would
have been the aftermath of all this?"
Bakayoko said that the video circulating showed "the
calmest part" of his interaction with police and asked why they did not
simply ask for the car's registration, "or by simply communicating".
"You have to know that I found myself with the gun a
meter away from me... They clearly put our lives in danger."
Amnesty Italy on Monday said the incident recalled
"racial profiling", saying it "could have had serious
consequences for an unknown person".


Leave a Comment