Three military police officers from Rocam attacked, with a baton and a taser, an unarmed young black man in Piracicaba (SP), this Monday (1st). He was sitting on the sidewalk, talking to friends, when he witnessed a friend being approached by the police and approached. When he refused to leave the place, according to his sister, Priscila Padilha, he was attacked by the agents.
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The 21-year-old then went into his parents’ house to ask for help. Without a warrant, the agents go after him. The father, in a wheelchair, tried to prevent the violence from continuing and was also attacked. Witnesses filmed part of the action (see below).
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The episode took place in the Cantagalo neighborhood. According to the young man’s sister, the scenes that occurred before and after the videos are even worse: they involve torture and death threats. According to the family, the boy was taken by police to a gym and beaten. Spitting up blood and suffering from cardiac arrhythmia, he was taken to the Emergency Care Unit (UPA) and then to the police station. The case was registered as contempt and disobedience.
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In the early evening of this Tuesday (2), the community organized a demonstration against police violence in the place where the attack took place. “The population is angry, feeling like their hands are tied. The only thing we can do is protest. We have to get together, we have to talk about it, we have to go forward”, says Priscila. “If in a week’s time they forge my brother on the street, it will be clear that it is persecution against him”, she attests. “Black lives matter”, says the rally’s call.
:: Warning: the video below contains strong images ::
What happened
According to the family of the young man attacked, friends were drinking beer on the sidewalk this Monday afternoon (1st), when one of them went to get money from home and was stopped by the police.
Priscila’s brother approached to follow the approach. She even joked with her friend, telling him not to forget to come back with more drinks later. One of the officers ordered him to leave. The young man argued that he had the right to be there, on a public street, was punched in the face and fell to the ground. The attacks continued. Between shocks and batons, he managed to free himself and go to his parents’ house, at which point witnesses began filming.
“They threatened my brother, saying that if he opens his mouth, they will kill him, his girlfriend, his father, his mother”, denounces Priscila, describing the feeling of fear. As she spoke, she heard a siren. “Ah, it’s an ambulance,” she relieved.
“When my brother arrived at the police station, the lawyer and I were already waiting for him. Then they took statements. And the police were there all the time trying to oppress, when we were in front of the police station, the police said they were going to arrest us for contempt”, reports Priscila.
When contacted, the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) – commanded by former Rota police officer Guilherme Derrite (PL) – informed that a Military Police Inquiry had been launched and that it was investigating the conduct of the agents, “removed from operational activities “.
In a statement, the SSP-SP stated that the police “were on patrol” when, “while trying to approach a motorcyclist, a 21-year-old man intervened. It was necessary to use a taser (stun gun) to restrain him During the action, his family members harassed the team. He was detained and taken to the police station, where he gave a statement in the presence of his lawyers. The investigations continue at the Piracicaba Sectional Police Station.”
The department did not respond about the entry into the home without a security warrant or about the report of torture in the gym before going to the police station.
Editing: Thalita Pires
