A Sao Paulo military police officer in Brazil was caught on video throwing a man off a bridge into a river, sparking public outrage.
Images broadcast on local television stations showed several Sao Paulo State officers on a bridge alongside motorcycles and a man in a blue T-shirt whom they had been chasing.
At one point, one of the officers approaches the man and lifts him by the legs and then throws him over the edge.
For much of today it was unclear whether the man had survived, although local media later reported that he had and had only minor injuries.
Still, the images were shocking and sparked outrage, even in a state where police violence is on the rise.
Sao Paulo military police identified the officers involved and suspended them, according to a statement from the State Public Security Secretariat.
He also condemned the officers’ conduct and said he had opened an investigation.
The statement did not give details about the man in the blue shirt, why he was wanted by the Police before being thrown into the river.
Also in Sao Paulo, images obtained and published by a local media outlet last month showed an off-duty military police officer gunning down a young man who had stolen packages of soap.
“Those who shoot people in the back, those who go so far as to throw someone off a bridge, are clearly not qualified to wear this uniform. These cases will be investigated and severely punished,” said the governor of Sao Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, in a statement on X.
De Freitas is an ally of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
EFE
Operation ends in riots, arrests and injuries
The Brazilian authorities deployed yesterday in Rio de January a major operation against leaders of the Command Redone of the most powerful drug trafficking gangs in the country, with a balance of 13 detainees, several injured and riots in the area.
The security forces and alleged traffickers clashed with shots in the North favela complex of the Fluminense capital and where the operation continued for several hours, according to the Civil Police, which remains alert.
CT
