Falcinelli mum hails State Department's words

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 8 - The mother of Matteo Falcinelli, a 25-year-old from Spoleto who was hogtied by Miami police for 13 minutes after being arrested outside a nightclub in the Florida city in February, on Wednesday hailed the State Department's statement that it recognised Italy's concern over the case and was following it closely.
    "It's good news," Vlasta Studenicova told ANSA after saying she was getting in touch with lawyers with the help of the Italian consulate in Miami.
    "The consulate has already contacted one of the lawyers who handled the case of (police fatal brutality victim) George Floyd," she said.
    "Another lawyer in Los Angeles contacted Matteo directly and we heard from him yesterday".
    Floyd was a 46-year-old black American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
    Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, causing his death from a lack of oxygen.
    The case spurred the Black Lives Matter movement. (ANSA).