Rio Police Tear Down Memorial about Police Violence

Oversight Failures by State Attorney General’s Office

César Muñoz

Associate Director, Americas Division

@_Cesar_Munoz

At least eight state police vehicles carrying men armed with assault rifles, some in military fatigues, drove into the Jacarezinho neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 11. They stopped, and before shocked onlookers, used a crowbar to remove metal plates screwed to a small memorial wall erected on the sidewalk over a bridge. Engraved on the plates were the names of 28 people killed during a police operation in Jacarezinho on May 6, 2021, including an officer. The police then tied the memorial to an armored vehicle and tore it down, before smashing the pieces with sledgehammers.

The memorial in the Jacarezinho neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil showing an inscription and names of those killed on metal plates — The memorial in the Jacarezinho neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before it was torn down by police on May 11, 2022. The plate on top reads: “Tribute to the victims of the Jacarezinho massacre! On 5/6/2021, 27 residents and a public servant were killed, victims of the genocidal and racist policy of the state of Rio de Janeiro, which has turned Jacarezinho into a battleground to combat small-scale drug dealing, which will never cease to take place. No death should be forgotten. No massacre should be viewed as something that is normal.” The small plates show the names and dates of birth and of death of the 27 residents and one police officer killed during the May 6, 2021 police raid. Photo courtesy of a Jacarezinho resident

“It was as if they were killing our children again,” Sandra Gomes, who was there, told me. Her son Matheus Gomes, 21, was killed during the raid.

The police claimed the memorial promoted drug dealing and allege “the 27 people it honored had proven involvement with criminal activities,” in reference to the 27 residents killed that day.

After the 2021 raid, the deadliest in Rio’s history, police said two victims, including a 16-year-old boy, had no police record, and although they claimed the other 25 had a record , they did not say if any had been convicted of a crime.

The day of the raid, police took at least 25 victims to the hospital, claiming they were alive, but they all arrived dead. Testimonies and other evidence strongly suggest this was a ruse to destroy crime scene evidence.

Insufficient witness interviews and other failures marred the investigations. Matheus Gomes’ body was photographed reclined on a plastic chair over a pool of blood, but neither police nor prosecutors ever took hold of the chair for forensic analysis, the Public Defender’s Office told me.

Prosecutors have already closed the inquiries into 24 killings, including Gomes’, for alleged lack of evidence. They have charged officers with homicide and tampering with evidence in three of the killings, and charged suspected drug dealers with the killing of the police officer.

Rio’s Attorney General’s Office, whose mandate includes ensuring police abide by the law, has failed to properly investigate the police command for its responsibility in the operation.

With such poor oversight, it’s no wonder Rio police feel empowered to try to destroy even the memory of their brutal actions.