Brazil: Extrajudicial Executions Undercut Rio Security
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(Rio de Janeiro, July 7, 2016) – Rio de Janeiro state promised improvements in public security in preparation for the Olympics, but it has not done enough to address extrajudicial executions by police, a central obstacle to more effective law enforcement, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.The 109-page report, “‘Good Cops Are Afraid’: The Toll of Unchecked Police Violence in Rio de Janeiro,” documents how unlawful police killings have contributed to the unraveling of the state’s ambitious efforts to improve public security. Rio police have killed more than 8,000 people in the past decade, including at least 645 in 2015. Many police killings were most likely the result of the legitimate use of force, but many others were extrajudicial executions, Human Rights Watch found.“Violent crime is a very real problem in Rio, but executing suspected criminals is not the answer,” said Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch. “These unlawful killings turn communities against the police and undermine security for all.” Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 30 Rio police officers, including several who described their experiences with the use of lethal force, and two who admitted direct involvement in executions. One officer recounted an operation in which a fellow officer executed a suspected member of a drug gang as he lay injured on the ground. Another described an operation designed to kill suspected gang members, not arrest them.
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