Rio de Janeiro: Military Police of genocidal governor Cláudio Castro kills young man in Complexo da Maré
We publish this unofficial translation of an article of AND.
The Rio de Janeiro Police carried out an operation in Complexo da Maré and killed a young unarmed worker, also shooting two other residents.
The murdering police of the genocidal Cláudio Castro began another operation at 9:30 am this Thursday (the 8th), in the Nova Holanda region, in Complexo da Maré. A 22-year-old young man was killed as a result of criminal police repression. Residents released a video showing the exact moment in which, in the middle of a protest, the police officer shoots a young protester.
Cowardly and murderous police, genocidal governor
Young Jeferson Araújo da Costa, aged 22, was shot at close range in the chest at the corner of Rua Teixeira Ribeiro and Avenida Brasil, while participating in a demonstration denouncing the fact that a child had become ill after his house had been invaded. The young man’s family then announced that he was taken to Getúlio Vargas Hospital, in Penha, alive and on the way the police executed him.
The video shows the military police officer hitting Jefferson with a rifle shot. The PM [Translator’s note: Military police] states that the police officer who fired the shot was identified and taken to the 21st police station (Bonsucesso) and that his conduct will be investigated by the Corporation’s Internal Affairs Department, with analysis of the images from the body camera he wore in his uniform. The name of the police officer was not released. Whatever the outcome of the investigation, however, nothing will change the fact that the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro are responsible for at least 30% of violent deaths in the state and that they systematically murder black, poor and favela people.
Attention: strong images.
The murderous police operation included caveirões [Translator’s note: a military style armored vehicle the police uses in the favelas] and agents from the Civil Police and the Special Operations Battalion (Bope). Right at the beginning of the action, information from residents revealed that invasions and “beatings” against residents, which are the police’s way of operating against the poor, were already occurring in a widespread manner in Nova Holanda and Parque União.
Throughout the afternoon, more police cars were directed to the location without any prediction of when the operation will be completed. Residents also denounced that the entire police action that resulted in Jefferson’s death was the result of recklessness, stating that the young man was a worker and the police officer fired without any motivation.
A resident who was close to Jefferson reported that the other protesters arrived at the scene with white cloths, protesting against the hospitalization of a child due to police action. It also reveals that the police officer cornered Jefferson and that when she ran to help him, both were attacked with pepper spray. At this moment, the police officer attacked the young man once again and fired. After the shot, the police officer fled, according to a report from one of the people who were at the scene in a video, and the police initially denied help to the young man.
The attitude of the Rio de Janeiro PM, subjected to the genocidal governor Cláudio Castro and the reactionary Army, clearly shows the role of the old State, which is to repress the people. The policy of murders against black, poor and favela residents in Brazil and especially in Rio de Janeiro, supported by Cláudio Castro in the current government, is part of the support of this farce that wants to paint itself as democracy, but that does not deceive anyone and especially those who most suffer at the hands of the forces of repression.
This is the second consecutive day of police operations in Maré in the first week of classes for students in the region. Many of these were still on their way to school when the operation began. Students from a school in the region had to lie down on the school floor to protect themselves from the gunfire during the operation. Two state schools had to be closed and the Municipal Department of Education activated the security protocol. The Jeremias Moraes da Silva Family Clinic was also closed.
In addition to the young man killed, there is information about two other people shot, taken to Evandro Freire Hospital. They were shot in the leg and buttock. Two other residents were injured: Marcos, 25 years old, resident of Nova Holanda, who was heavily attacked by police officers from the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), and another unnamed person, who was physically and psychologically attacked.
An elderly man also had to be rescued after suffering a heart attack. A video shows the man being taken away by residents in a wheelbarrow. Information given by residents in social media groups says that the gunshots precipitated the heart attack.
According to the 22nd Military Police Battalion (PM), which is responsible for the region, the “emergency operation” aimed to recover 11 cars stolen from a stork truck that were in the Complex.
