Crime & Justice

Three deaths add to complaints about deadly police operations in Brazil

By Jon Martín Cullell

Santos, Brazil, Mar 7 (EFE).- People from the Brazilian city of Santos, in the state of São Paulo, have denounced possible human rights violations during one of the deadliest and most recent police operations, in which 39 people were killed in the past month.

Relatives of three of the victims spoke to EFE to defend that they were innocent and to point out inconsistencies in the investigation of the deaths, which occurred in the context of this operation, launched on February 7 in response to the murder of an agent, and which is ongoing.

The São Paulo Security Secretariat said it is investigating the killings, but claimed that the deceased had links to drug trafficking and died during a confrontation with the agents.

But the families argue that one of the young men who were killed is practically blind and another one has a physical disability (congenital limp).

In the community of Vila dos Pescadores, a group of mothers, sisters, and wives protest and plan to take their cases to the regional police ombudsman. They carry white crosses with the names of their dead and chant: “God creates and the police kills.”

Leonel Santos, 36 years old

On the evening of Feb. 9, Santos, a father of three, left his house to go and see Jefferson Ramos, a good friend. As usual, he was using his crutches as he suffered from muscle atrophy in one leg and could not walk without them.

Shortly after 8 pm local time, his wife, Beatriz García, heard shots and ran to the scene. She was met by a wall of special forces who, with rifles in hand, pushed back the desperate relatives. It took about an hour for the ambulance to arrive, García said.

In an early report, seen by EFE, the police claimed that a patrol had spotted two “armed” individuals firing in their direction, to which they responded with around ten shots.

The list of confiscated items gives a precise detail of the amount of drugs and even the backpack’s color but makes no mention of the crutches, which the family claims are missing.

“He was either holding the gun or the crutches. They kill Leonel and then say he was a drug dealer, but he was an ordinary person, very calm,” said García.

Allan de Morais, 36 years old

Allan de Morais died the next day. He was heading off from his job as an assistant at a football club when he was stopped by a police car a few kilometers away.

According to the police, the officers ordered De Morais to stop, but he tried to run away and grabbed a gun, at that moment he was shot to prevent a “deadly attack.”

“The police refuse to register the deaths at the scene of the crime; they take the bodies to the hospitals and thus dismantle the scene of the crime,” criticised Dimitri Salles, Commissioner for Human Rights.

Hilderbrando Neto, 24 years old

Neto was completely blind in one eye and could barely see with the other. He received government assistance and had two children in charge.

On the day of the incident, his mother was making coffee when she saw a group of armed police coming into her house.

“Stay still,” they told her. Then she heard a gunshot and Neto calling her. She ran into the room, but an officer grabbed her and dragged her out of the house.

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