Letter of condemnation in response to comments made by Governor Márcio França

Conectas and Mães de Maio have sent a letter to the São Paulo Government condemning praise of the Military Police operation that led to the death of a mugger

On Thursday (17) Conectas Direitos Humanos and the Mães de Maio movement sent a condemnation letter to the São Paulo State Government, decrying the Governor Márcio França’s comments (PSB). The document criticizes the Governor’s statement as being, to some extent, an incentive for police lethality and gives the message to society that there is a carte blanche to kill. Read the full statement:

The São Paulo Governor Márcio França’s (PSB) statements on Monday (14), supporting lethal action by the state Military Police force, were irresponsible and validate the idea that the law is not applicable to everybody, in particular not to public security officers.
When praising a military police officer’s reaction to a mugging, which resulted in the aggressor’s death, the governor stated that “people have to understand that their [the military police] uniform is sacred, it is an extension of the São Paulo state flag. If you offend the uniform, to offend a police officer, you are risking your life. That’s how it has to be.” As reported by the press.

An official statement of this kind by the state governor is a worrying indication to the police force, the message being that they have carte blanche to kill.
It is important to emphasize that there has been a recent sharp increase in the number of people killed by the police, reaching a shameful record of police lethality. In 2017 there were 943 cases, the highest number of victims on Public Security Records, which date back to 2001. In just the past three years over 2,600 people have been killed by the police in the whole state. The alarming figures indicate that confrontational strategies have been favoured and praised, as seen in the governor Márcio França’s comment.

This is even more serious when seen in the current context. Precisely twelve years ago, Sao Paulo experienced the sad episode which came to be known as ‘bloody week’ or the ‘May Crimes’ when, in only nine days, over 500 people were killed by firearms. There were clear signs that these were executions carried out by death squads. Since then, studies carried out point to strong evidence attributing blame for these crimes to the Sao Paulo police force. Until today, those responsible have not been punished and investigations have been filed.

The institutions who have signed below condemn the Governor’s statements and stress that the use of lethal force should be the extreme exception. It should always be the last option and only within regulatory norms.

• Read here the letter sent to the government of the State of São Paulo