Bahia state government requests investigation into police actions in massacre.
The police operation that resulted in 12 deaths occurred after reports of an invasion carried out by an armed group from a criminal organization.
Luciano Nascimento - Reporter for Agência Brasil
The governor of Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues, asked the Civil Police to investigate a “possible overreach” by the Military Police in the operation that ended with 12 suspects of belonging to a criminal faction dead, in Fazenda Coutos, in the suburbs of Salvador, on Tuesday (4). The statement was made in a live internet broadcast about the balance of the carnival in Bahia, on the night of this Wednesday (5).
"We're asking for a full study to determine whether the police overreacted," Rodrigues said. "The study is ongoing so we can determine whether there was any overreaction," he added.
The police operation that resulted in 12 deaths occurred after reports of an invasion carried out by an armed group from a criminal organization in the Fazenda Coutos region.
"This community had been subjected to violence, and for a long time, for two days, the community had been complaining to the police, sending requests for their presence. Intelligence detected, through cameras, a dispute between two factions. One of them, claiming victory, gained ground and wanted to rule, prohibiting people from moving around. The Military Police immediately investigated the area, but they confronted the police, and as a result, 12 people were killed," the governor stated.
Investigation
Following the massacre, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Bahia initiated proceedings to investigate the actions of the Military Police. The proceedings were handled by the Special Action Groups to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco) and the Special Operational Action Group for Public Security (Geosp).
Yesterday, the Public Prosecutor's Office met with the Secretaries of Public Security (SSP) and Justice and Human Rights (SJDH), and with the command of the Military and Civil Police to discuss next steps regarding the investigations into the police intervention.
"We are in direct dialogue with the police authorities and security forces, monitoring every step of the investigation, with Gaeco and Geosp, in gathering information, especially from the forensic reports, so that all circumstances can be investigated with due transparency," said the Attorney General of Justice and head of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Bahia, Pedro Maia.
Scenario analysis
Following the massacre, the Fogo Cruzado Institute advocated for a rethinking of public security policy in the state. Data compiled by Fogo Cruzado shows that this is the 100th massacre in Salvador and the Metropolitan Region since data collection began in Bahia in July 2022. Of this total, 67% of the massacres involve police officers, resulting in 261 deaths.
According to Tailane Muniz, regional coordinator of the Fogo Cruzado Institute in Bahia, the numbers show that security policy needs to be designed to protect all citizens.
“When 12 people die in a police action, it becomes clear that the priority is confrontation and not protection. Residents of the region faced more than seven hours of intense gunfire, public transportation was suspended, and the question remains: what are the results of this? What will change after so much shooting and so many deaths? The data on massacres helps to understand that even with so many deaths, we still lack an efficient policy that delivers the results expected by the population,” Tailane told Agência Brasil.
