Italian policemen accused of raping US students

Italian police officers are under investigation for the alleged rape of two US students in Florence, media said Friday.

The women, aged 19 and 21, were in a nightclub on Wednesday night when a fight broke out and the owner called the police. Six officers arrived, with four leaving shortly afterward when calm was restored, the reports said.

The two who stayed on struck up a conversation with the Americans, who were visibly drunk, and offered them a lift home when they failed to find a taxi.

The women claim they were attacked by the officers once they arrived home in the early hours of Thursday, with one raped in the courtyard and the other in the house.