The evening of the 24th and the morning of the 25th of June, 2013 will be marked in the memory of the residents of Maré shantytown complex and the city of Rio de Janeiro by sadness.
A group of Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) agents entered the complex to curb thefts to passersby on Avenida Brasil, a road that crosses the region. Early on, one of the policemen was killed. From there, according to the testimonies of the residents registered in the investigation that ensued, there was a string of brutal actions in the communities of Parque Maré, Nova Holanda and Parque União, apparently as a means to avenge the police officers. Maré dawned crying nine dead residents.
The community’s mobilization and Maré institutions helped prevent even more victims and spurred investigations by the civil police, through the Homicide Division. A week later, a demonstration for justice and against police violence brought together locals and people from various corners of the city, helping expand international repercussions of the tragedy.
It took several days to identify the victims and convince their families to contribute with testimonies and clues for the investigation by the Homicide Division. A significant number of witnesses was willing to overcome the fear of speaking – an unusual fact in the context of Rio’s slums.
One year after the sad events, the person in charge of the investigations, delegate Rivaldo Barbosa, said that the work will be completed soon.
The investigations indicate that the policeman died in the confrontation with members of armed local groups. Eight other people were charged with resistance followed by death; and one more was working at a bar at the time the police, advancing towards the back of Parque União slum, shot towards the business establishment.
Preliminary information from investigations instigates reflection on deaths in slums and suburbs and on solving crime in our country. All indications point towards eight victims being proclaimed dead while resisting police action. This means that these people will be identified not as victims, but as authors of their own deaths in a context of confrontation with the police.
In the National Congress, the draft law No. 4471/2012 is being processed, which proposes the end of the characterization of the homicides that happen in confrontation with the police as “resistance” followed by death. This expression, which has become commonplace, has served to justify the lack of clarification on many criminal actions involving professionals of public safety and armed criminal gang members. The draft text suggests measures to ensure that such offenses are, in fact, investigated and punished. It would be a chance to reduce the number of police investigative processes never clarified, which generate impunity, abuse of authority and fraud.
Proof that the deaths were the result of revenge for the BOPE sergeant’s murder requires attention and response from the authorities. It is incomprehensible and unacceptable that professionals who should act in the protection and respect for life are responsible for brutal and unjustified killings.
Eliana Sousa Silva
Director and founder of NGO Redes da Maré, researcher in public security and visiting professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies at USP
