Justice

Perugia: man urinates on a Carabinieri car and films the whole thing – acquitted

Raffaele Nevi, an Umbrian MP for Forza Italia, has written to the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio

by Enrico Bronzo

14 July 2026

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2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Raffaele Nevi, an Umbrian MP for Forza Italia, has announced that he has written to the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, after the court in Perugia acquitted a man who had deliberately urinated on a Carabinieri vehicle, – as reported by PerugiaToday – whilst filming the act on his mobile phoneand.

The judge reclassified the offences of criminal damage and contempt of court as minor offences, ordering an acquittal. Only the offence of public drunkenness was punished, with a fine of around a hundred euros.

This is the sentence handed down by the judge at the Criminal Court of Perugia against a 24-year-old man of Ethiopian origin, who was arrested during the night of 23–24 June 2026 by the Perugia Radiomobile Carabinieri unit.

The article in PerugiaToday – written by Umberto Maiorca – states that it was precisely the footage from the 35-second video, filmed by the young man, that contradicted the account given in the arrest reports, thereby undermining the constituent elements of the alleged offences of contempt and insult.

The alleged damage was reclassified as vandalism, precisely because, in this case too, the constituent elements of the offence were absent and the offence was deemed to be of a particularly minor nature.

The prosecution’s case

According to the charge brought by Deputy Public Prosecutor Alessandro Pazzaglia, the young man is alleged to have urinated “on the door, on the wheel and on the opening handle of the Carabinieri’s official vehicle, intended for public service”, rendering it “temporarily unusable” due to the need for exceptional cleaning and sanitisation. The officers recognised the seriousness of the conduct due to the “biological contamination” of the vehicle’s parts intended for manual contact. The hygiene and sanitary conditions, as stated in the report, are said to have compromised the vehicle’s normal functionality, forcing it to remain out of service whilst cleaning was carried out.

“A decision that, quite frankly, leaves one baffled,” comments Raffaele Nevi, who sent a letter to the minister “asking for a more detailed investigation into the matter within the scope of his remit”.

“In my letter,” explains the MP in a statement, “I expressed my concern about a decision that risks fuelling a sense of mistrust and insecurity amongst citizens. Law enforcement officers represent the State, and anyone wearing a uniform always deserves respect. Offensive behaviour towards the institutions cannot be underestimated, as it risks conveying the message that such actions may go unpunished.”