Twenty-five-year-old Matteo Falcinelli, a native of Spoleto in Umbria, finally returned to Italy yesterday after the serious incident of violence he suffered from Miami police on the night of Feb. 24-25 last year. Today, “he is living his first day in Italy very tried by the physical and psychological suffering he is carrying because of the trauma he suffered,” explains his mother Vlasta Studenicova.
In February 2024, Falcinelli was arrested outside a strip club in North Miami Beach after allegedly refusing to leave the property and touching two off-duty police officers. The arrest was captured on body camera footage, which showed officers using a controversial restraint technique known as “hogtying,” where Falcinelli’s hands and feet were bound together behind his back.
The incident sparked significant controversy and led to calls for justice from Falcinelli’s family and supporters. Despite the charges being dropped in September 2024, the Florida International University (FIU), where Falcinelli was studying, initiated an internal investigation.
This morning Matteo said he applied at the U.S. Consulate in Florence for a visa since his previous one was revoked last May when he reported being abused by four Miami officers. Matteo’s mother said, “We hope for a positive outcome and I thank the Farnesina for the support they are giving us in the visa issue. I spoke with the Foreign Ministry today about Matteo’s return reiterating my requests for support from the government and I hope my voice will be heard.”
Matteo is now very happy to be in Italy, even though he has to undergo numerous medical examinations, psychiatric sessions and various assessments. The young man wanted to share a video in which he expresses his excitement at being able to have also brought with him from Miami his beloved cat Chicco, “the only being who always kept him company in Miami when I could not be with him,” says the boy’s mother. In the video that Matteo wanted to share, he confides, “I want to be close to my loved ones, my family and friends, to start living again and get out of this trauma.”
