Tiemoue Bakayoko finally spoke regarding the tense situation he was put through when Italian police stopped his car at gunpoint and then proceeded to frisk him. The video, which was uploaded on social media, shows the moment a police officer recognizes that there was a mistake and tells the other officer frisking the AC Milan player that they got the wrong suspect.
Italian police issued a statement when the matter went public justifying their search and the method the officers used during the car stop. No reason has yet to be given as to why the car stop required the officers to approach the vehicle with their guns drawn as a first measure.
Bakayoko spoke about the incident on social media and the former Chelsea player really thought his life was in serious danger.
Tiemoue Bakayoko on police stop
Bakayoko stated, “Making an error is human… I don’t have a problem admitting that. However, the methods they used pose a problem. It needs to be made known that in the video you don’t see everything, perhaps just the most calm part. I found myself with a gun a meter away from me, and [so did] the passenger. They really put our lives in danger. The consequences could have been more serious if I had not remained calm and if I had not been recognized in time.”
In the Italian police statement, the search was justified in the following matter: “It should be noted that the search occurred in an operational context that justified the adoption of the highest security measures… Also as a function of self-protection, and [it] was carried out in a manner absolutely consistent with the type of alarm in progress.”