In recent days, the hashtag #istandwithclaudia has been circulating on social media, especially among 118 volunteers, coinciding with the verdict in the trial over the death of Riccardo Magherini, which dates back two years. But what is the case about, and why were Red Cross volunteers accused?
The Case Link to heading
I’ll try to summarize everything to get to what interests me most: the role of rescuers.
March 3, 2014 — It’s just past one in the morning when Riccardo, in a state of severe agitation, is stopped by two police patrols. The agitation is such that the officers are forced to restrain him prone on the ground and handcuff him; 118 is then called to transport the patient. A Red Cross ambulance arrives on the scene with three volunteers on board: Claudia, Janeta, and Maurizio. A request is immediately made for an advanced life support unit to sedate the patient. From here, the story is told in two different versions:
The version reported on the official CRI website states that the volunteers were not authorized by law enforcement to approach, for safety reasons. Only Claudia at one point asks for the patient’s handcuffs to be removed so she can assess him — a request that was immediately denied.
The version from the newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Nazione states that the patient was assessed using a pulse oximeter, which detected no vital signs (blamed on device malfunction).
What is certain is that the advanced life support unit was requested to sedate the detainee. Upon its arrival, however, the doctor informs the 118 operations center that the patient is in cardiac arrest and begins performing resuscitation maneuvers. Magherini is resuscitated en route to the emergency room, but it is all in vain.
According to the autopsy, the official cause of death is: “Complex mechanism of toxic, cardiac dysfunctional, and asphyxial nature.”
The Charges Link to heading
The 4 police officers and 3 volunteers were charged with manslaughter, in addition to assault charges for the law enforcement officers. Of the three volunteers, Janeta is cleared because she apparently did not approach the injured man, unlike Claudia, for whom the prosecutor requested a 9-month prison sentence. Maurizio unfortunately passed away last year following a motorcycle accident (source: CRI press release). The final verdict is expected in the second half of June.
Considerations Link to heading
Personally, the case left me very perplexed: I don’t understand how a rescuer can be charged with something as serious as manslaughter, knowing that they were prevented from approaching the patient. As we all know, in an emergency response, if safety is not assured, you do not intervene in any way. In the presence of police or firefighters, this responsibility is delegated to them, so if they prevent the intervention, I don’t see what the unfortunate crew could have done. However, as I’ve highlighted in the case, the facts are unclear — at least those obtainable from the media — and if the prosecutor brought such a serious charge, it means there were grounds to do so.
When trying to define a volunteer’s conduct, there is a tendency to absolve them given the “free nature of their service.” We tend to forget that, even as volunteers, we hold a role of extreme importance and are both civilly and criminally liable for our conduct on duty.