Rio police 'trigger happy' says Amnesty as Olympics loom
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Amnesty International claim that Brazil’s military police have been responsible for the deaths of over 1,000 people in Rio de Janeiro between 2010 and 2013.
Brazil: ‘Trigger happy’ military police kill hundreds amid #Rio2016 Olympic countdown http://t.co/R3cFsnT0Bipic.twitter.com/Vlp2KSpYcm
— AmnestyInternational (@AmnestyOnline) August 3, 2015The damning report comes a year before Rio hosts the Olympic Games in 2016.
Brazil: ‘Trigger happy’ military police kill hundreds as Rio prepares for Olympic countdown http://t.co/RpnDO5xR9Gpic.twitter.com/PJdc24owbF
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) August 3, 2015According to figures released by Amnesty 16 percent of killings in the city over the past five years were perpetrated by on-duty officers.
Authorities say officers regularly come under fire from drug gangs that occupy the city’s favelas.
The police union Sindpol stated that 114 police have been killed in 2014 alone.
Amnesty claims that the civilian deaths were often illegal with people being killed after being wounded or in police detention.
"You killed my son": Amnesty Brazil -report on police killings; live 03/08 at 10:30 (GMT-3h) http://t.co/ZduRi9RkeXhttps://t.co/G4USid6xiw
— Anna Neistat (@AnnaNeistat) August 2, 2015It added that those responsible often escape justice.
Prosecutors charge 15 more police officers in death of slum resident: The Rio de Janeiro's prosecutor's office... http://t.co/KA3q4QEzWv
— Erich Manke (@MankeErich) October 22, 2013The prosecutor’s office in Rio says that 587 police officers have been investigated and brought to justice over the past five years.