Two police officers in the city of Genoa were attacked by a group of migrants armed with glass bottles as they were pursuing a drug dealer.
The incident took place at around 2 o’clock in the morning and saw the two officers stop a car on the Via Gramsci to carry out a routine identification check. They encountered a Senegalese migrant who was initially co-operative but fled after being told to get out of his car, Il Giornale reports.
As the officers pursued the migrant on foot, he shouted and screamed which led to other migrants, described as not being from the European Union, coming to his aid and encircling the two officers.
The group of migrants then began to arm themselves with glass bottles and throw them at the officers. Police back-up arrived on the scene a short time later which led to the group of migrants dispersing before they could seriously injure either officer.
The 31-year-old Senegalese man was found with three grams of cocaine, 2,590 euros in cash. After his arrest, the migrant was taken to a local hospital which found a further 20 small packets of cocaine in his intestines.
Attacks by migrants on Italian police have become a major issue in parts of Italy. Earlier this year in Turin, another Senegalese migrant attacked police while yelling “Allahu Akbar” at them. One of the officers suffered head trauma as a result of the attack.
The Italian Union of Police Officers said of the incident, “In recent weeks there has been a crescendo of violence that must worry everyone. It is not acceptable in any way to grant hospitality and protection to those who could kill a common citizen or a policeman.”
An even more serious attack occurred a month later in Mirandola where a North African migrant set fire to a police station, killing two people and injuring more than a dozen others.