By: Nandini Krishnan
Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro’s time in office has seen him wage a war against crime. He has previously stated that he hoped criminals “die in the streets like cockroaches”— and unfortunately with police killings in Rio De Janeiro at a 20 year high in 2019, he might have been successful. More recently, with the use of brute and often lethal force, police killings accounted for more than 2,000 deaths in Rio since the start of last year.
While COVID-19 cases in the country soar (it currently has the second highest number of cases worldwide, after the US), the police are still continuing to raid favelas, the country’s informal squatter settlements, and conducting raids. These operations have left many dead— 13 were killed in a favela in an operation that was aimed at locating drug traffickers. While 5 were suspected traffickers, the deaths of the other 8 lacks any kind of explanation. While the country doesn’t have a death penalty, these killings completely ignore the due process that people must go through for conviction.
A New York Times report found that while lethal force is only allowed to be used by the police in the case of an imminent threat, however, around 48 of the killings they analysed showed people were shot in the back, raising questions regarding how closely these laws are followed. Furthermore, police officers who are on trial for murder still continue to serve on duty.
Unfortunately, mandatory laws that require forensic experts to investigate the scenes of fatal shootings are largely ignored. The families of many victims are also scared to report anything due to the fear that the police will retaliate against them. Forensic teams often lack adequate budget for vital equipment like Luminol. All of these factors combined make it incredibly hard for the police force to be held accountable for even flagrant offenses.
However, there is some action being taken against them. Dani Monteiro, a state deputy, has proposed a bill that would halt police operations during the quarantine periods. A human rights convention led by leftwing congresswoman Reneta Souza is currently reviewing audio and video evidence that show police violation of the rights of residents in the Alemão favelas.
Monteiro has also said that the “‘war on drugs’ has been the pretext for which the State operates in this society, and the result is the genocide of black youth.” This is because black and mixed race youths are often disproportionately targeted by both homicides and police killings. All of this results in the emergence of a strong anti-police sentiment, and this can mean many youths continue to join the drug trade and gangs in Brazil.
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