Investigation Report: 8-year-old Ágatha Was Killed by Rio State Police Officer

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Two months ago, a gunshot was fired from a state police corporal’s gun, killing 8-year-old student Ágatha Vitória Sales Félix in Morro da Fazendinha, in Complexo do Alemão. The report is part of the Civil Police investigation into the case, which should be submitted to the court this Tuesday.

According to the document, there was an “operational error”: the goal was not to shoot the child, but to fire a “warning shot” to compel two men on a motorcycle to stop.

The pair allegedly fled a police checkpoint in the favela complex. Then the state police (PM), stationed at the Fazendinha Police Pacification Unit (UPP), fired the shot. According to witness reports included in the investigation, the corporal was under intense stress due to the death of a colleague three days earlier and, therefore, may have mistakenly thought an aluminum frame that the pillion rider was carrying was a gun.

The tragedy occurred in the early evening of September 20th. Eleven days later, the state police officer took part in the simulation of Ágatha’s death in the same location, despite the fact that some of his colleagues had refused to do so. According to a source linked to the investigation, “he is in very poor spirits and keeps saying that he didn’t want to shoot the girl”.

A report from the Carlos Éboli Institute of Criminal Law (ICCE), delivered to the Homicide Police Station in the capital (DH), pointed out that a fragment of projectile found in Ágatha’s body displayed identical grooves to the rifle’s barrel used by the police officer. According to the report, the bullet first struck a lamp-post. It was shrapnel that caused the girl’s death, perforating her back and exiting through the thorax. The child was rushed to the Emergency Room of Morro do Alemão, from where she was transferred to the Getúlio Vargas State Hospital, in Penha.

On Monday, delegate Daniel Rosa, head of the Homicided Division (DH), would not comment on the case. According to him, the Civil Police will submit the full report of the investigation on Tuesday.

Over 20 people were interviewed in the inquiry, including Ágatha’s parents, the driver of the van in which she was with her mother at the time she was shot, other witnesses and PMs. The Civil Police has not reported whether the person responsible for the shooting will be prosecuted for any crime.

In addition to DH, the Police Pacification Coordination (CPP) is also investigating the case. The PM has not reported whether a result for this investigation is available.

Mother continues fighting for justice

On November 5th, Vanessa Francisco Sales, 32, the girl’s mother, was in the DH demanding answers for the death of her daughter. According to a family attorney, they were denied access to investigation data on the grounds that the inquiry was being conducted in secrecy. At the time, the Human Rights Commission’s prosecutor, Rodrigo Mondego, criticized the investigators’ stance in the case.

“We do not have access to the case because it is confidential. How long will that be? When will this answer come out? Until when?,” asked Vanessa, deeply emotional.

“The day they (the civil police) talked to me they said they would do what they could to complete the investigation in 30 days. Of course, as he (the police detector) said, no one has priority. But I as a mother want an answer.”

Vanessa asked that the guilty be punished.

“It can’t keep on like this. There can’t be any more Ágathas, other children, this must stop. We want justice to be served,” asked Vanessa, who has not been able to return home since her daughter died.

Ágatha is part of a group of six children who died from stray bullets this year. Last week, the most recent victim of this statistic was Ketellen Umbelino de Oliveira Gomes, 5. The girl was cycling with her mother to school, in Realengo, when a gunfight broke out and she was shot. A young man accused of being a robber was allegedly the target of the shots. So far, only the investigation into Ágatha’s case has been completed.

Source: O Globo