9 & 10 News May 7, 2021 Two Americans are now sentenced to life in prison after killing a police officer in Italy. In 2019, Finnegan Elder and Gabriel Natale thought they were buying cocaine on vacation in Rome. It was really crushed up aspirin. They stole the backpack of the person who introduced them to the drug dealer. Italian police dressed in plainclothes tried to recover the backpack. That’s when authorities say Elder and Natale stabbed Officer Mario Cerciello 11 times. Elder and Natale say they thought the police were thugs because they didn’t identify themselves and were acting in self-defense. Elder’s lawyer says they plan to appeal the ruling.