Chile: Police Officer Accused of Shooting Street Juggler Will Remain in Custody

RIODE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Saturday, Chilean courts jailed the police officer accused of shooting and killing a juggler during a routine check, an incident that on Friday triggered riots in the south of the country and once again put the spotlight on the Carabineros police force.

At the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, which is still “gathering evidence” to formalize the charges, the suspect, a Carabineros police officer, will remain in preventive custody and will be indicted next Tuesday.

The uniformed officer was arrested on Friday afternoon, according to regional prosecutor Marcelo Leal, after videos were released in which several police officers approached a young juggler in the town of Panguipulli, in the southern region of Los Ríos province, 800 kilometers south of the capital.

According to the footage, during an identity check in the center of the small town, one of the officers pointed a gun at the victim, Francisco Martinez, who then lunged and pulled out two long knives from his street show before being shot.

The case prompted a wave of protests in Panguipulli, where groups of demonstrators set up barricades while a total of ten government buildings were set on fire.

On Saturday, authorities reported that no one had been arrested for the fires, which affected the city hall building – consumed by the flames – the police station and the Civil Registry, among other buildings.

“This incident (the juggler’s death), which must be investigated, has nothing to do with the attack on public facilities that we saw yesterday,” said Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado, who assured that all information in the hands of the Carabineros will be handed over to clarify the truth.

Meanwhile, at least five people were arrested for disorderly conduct and seven for failing to comply with health protocols, said the regional governor César Asenjo.

The Mayor of Panguipulli, Rodrigo Valdivia, reiterated that the victim was a “peaceful and respectful” citizen and assured that both the fires and Francisco’s death are the “full responsibility” of the police who behaved “negligently”.

The Carabineros, challenged for its brutality in repressing the 2019 protests against inequality, said in a statement that the officers acted in “legitimate self-defense”.

This incident unleashed a wave of criticism towards the police force by the opposition and human rights organizations, which reiterated the “urgency” of reorganizing the police and called for a “rational and proportional” use of force.

In late 2019, Chile experienced the most severe social crisis since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990), with some thirty deaths and thousands of wounded, as well as allegations of human rights violations committed by the police forces.

Criticism against the police force, once well regarded by citizens, intensified last October, a few days before the social uprising’s first anniversary, when an officer hurled a young boy into a river during a protest.

Source: Infobae