68
GIULIANI AND GAGGIO v. ITALY JUDGMENT
dangerous. Furthermore, when the move was made, there was no reason to
suppose that the demonstrators would be able to force the carabinieri, as
they did, to withdraw rapidly and in disorderly fashion, thereby prompting
the jeeps to retreat in reverse gear and leading to one of them becoming
hemmed in. The immediate cause of these events was the violent and
unlawful attack by the demonstrators. It is quite clear that no operational
decision previously taken by the law-enforcement agencies could have
taken account of this unforeseeable element. Moreover, the fact that the
communications system chosen apparently only allowed information to be
exchanged between the police and carabinieri control centres, but not direct
radio contact between the police officers and carabinieri themselves (see
paragraph 222 above), is not in itself sufficient basis for finding that there
was no clear chain of command, a factor which, according to the Court's
case-law, is liable to increase the risk of some police officers shooting
erratically (see Makaratzis, cited above, § 68). M.P. was subject to the
orders and instructions of his superior officers, who were present on the
ground.
260. Moreover, the Court does not see why the fact that M.P. was
injured and deemed unfit to remain on duty should have led those in
command to take his weapon from him. The weapon was an appropriate
means of personal defence with which to counter a possible violent and
sudden attack posing an imminent and serious threat to life, and was indeed
used for that precise purpose.
261. Lastly, as regards the events following the fatal shooting (see
paragraph 229 above), the Court observes that there is no evidence that the
assistance afforded to Carlo Giuliani was inadequate or delayed or that the
jeep drove over his body intentionally. In any case, as demonstrated by the
autopsy report (see paragraph 50 above), the brain injuries sustained as a
result of the shot fired by M.P. were so severe that they resulted in death
within a few minutes.
262. It follows that the Italian authorities did not fail in their obligation
to do all that could reasonably be expected of them to provide the level of
safeguards required during operations potentially involving the use of lethal
force. There has therefore been no violation of Article 2 of the Convention
on account of the organisation and planning of the policing operations
during the G8 summit in Genoa and the tragic events on Piazza Alimonda.
II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 2 OF THE CONVENTION IN
ITS PROCEDURAL ASPECT
263. The applicants alleged that the respondent State had failed in
several respects to comply with the procedural obligations arising out of
Article 2 of the Convention. The Government contested that allegation.
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