Man Killed by Gunshot to Head in Rio de Janeiro, Residents Accuse Police

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Francisco Laelson Paulo, 26, a bar manager, was shot in the head when he was returning home, around 7 AM on Saturday, November 9th, in the Barreira do Vasco community, in São Cristóvão. He did not survive his injuries and died on the spot.

Residents and witnesses stated to ‘O Globo’ newspaper that the shots were fired by the region’s Police Pacification Unit (UPP) and that there were no police operations taking place.

In a statement, the Rio de Janeiro State Police reported that teams from the Neighborhood Police Tactical Grouping were patrolling when they were alerted of the presence of armed criminals in the community.

When they arrived at the scene, according to the note, the police were shot at and there was gunfire. Francisco Laelson Paulo was caught in the crossfire and died.

Community residents told ‘O Globo’ that they are outraged and that Francisco is yet another innocent man who died at the hands of the police.

According to the 13th Brazilian Annual Report on Public Safety, released in September, the number of people killed by police in the country broke records in 2018. In Rio de Janeiro, during this period, 22.8 percent of of violent killings were committed by law enforcement officers.

Deaths by police officers have continued to rise at least since 2016 (before the data were less reliable). There was an increase of 20 percent in 2018 over 2017, and of 47 percent over 2016.

Analysis of the profile of deaths by the police in Brazil shows that the majority of victims are black (75.4 percent), studied only up to primary school (81.5 percent) and are between 18 and 29 years old (68.2 percent).

The State Police reported that the protocols to investigate the police action that led to the death of Francisco have already been activated and that the inquiry will be conducted by the Civil Police Homicide Office; a State Police Inquiry will be conducted in parallel.

Source: Folhapress