Ceará’s State Police Continue Mutiny After Failed Negotiations

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After four meetings at the headquarters of the Ceará Prosecutor’s Office, the commission comprising members of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches of the State, in addition to State Police (PM) representatives, failed to reach an agreement to put an end to the PM’s strike at the 18th Police Battalion in Fortaleza for the past 11 days.

According to the commission, in order to continue the negotiations, the PMs demanded the presence of the former federal deputy Corporal Sabino and the leader of the police officers’ wives, identified as Nina, who are taking part in the protest movement. The request was unanimously denied.

According to Ceará’s prosecutor-general, Manuel Pinheiro, the reason for this is the fact that the former deputy has an open warrant for his arrest for having led the riots. “We, the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary Powers, do not feel comfortable sitting at the table with a person in this condition,” Pinheiro said.

Among the points discussed at the meeting was the amnesty of State Police officers involved in the riots. Pinheiro pointed out that the commission does not have the power to decide on criminal amnesty, but rather an administrative amnesty, which was also denied. Each officer will only be held accountable for the crime he committed.

Now, the Ceará section of the Brazilian Bar Association, along with the State Public Defender’s Office, is to meet with the PMs at the 18th BPM to seek a new representative. Negotiations will resume after selection.

To ensure public safety in Ceará, 2,800 men from the Army and the National Forces are stationed on the streets of Fortaleza, the metropolitan region and the interior.

On Friday, February 28th, President Jair Bolsonaro decided to extend the Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO) decree in Ceará for another week, until March 6th.

The PMs’ strike has led to a rise in crime throughout the state. The latest data released by the Secretariat of Public Safety confirms that 170 people have been murdered between Wednesday, February 19th, and Carnival Monday.

The PMs’ mutiny began on February 18th. In all, 230 police officers are awaiting administrative proceedings and will not be paid their salaries for 120 days as of February. These officers may be removed from the police.