State Police suspend 12 officers involved in operation killing pregnant woman in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro State Police has removed 12 officers involved in the operation that ended with the death of a pregnant woman, Kathlen Romeu, 24. The State Police officers had their weapons collected for examination – in all, 21 weapons were seized.

The case is being investigated by the Capital’s Homicide Police, which on Friday, June 11, took a statement from Kathlen’s grandmother, Sayonara Fátima de Oliveira. She was with the young woman when Kathlen was shot, on late afternoon Tuesday, June 8.

According to the State Police, when she was shot, officers were exchanging fire with criminals in the Complexo do Lins, in the northern zone of Rio. The young woman was found soon after, with a perforation in her thorax. The forensics report indicated that she had been shot by a rifle.

Kathlen Romeu was four months pregnant. She had moved from Lins about a month ago, and was in the community visiting relatives. According to the young woman’s father, Luciano Gonçalves, she had moved precisely to escape the violence in the area.