Rio de Janeiro city councilors will analyze in an extraordinary session, this Wednesday (26), a Bill that allows the use of lethal weapons by the city’s Municipal Guard.
The text under analysis foresees the use of firearms by three groups of the guard in the initial stage: Special Operations Group, Mobile Tactical Group and agents stationed at the Mayor’s Military House.
An amendment to be discussed, authored by councilor Doctor Gilberto (Solidarity), wants to limit the use of lethal weapons to these three segments of the corporation.
The use of equipment is optional and will be decided by the agent himself.
The project, which amends the Municipal Organic Law, is jointly authored by 21 councilors, including Carlos Bolsonaro (PL), son of the former President of the Republic.
Yesterday (25), in a plenary session, the text began to be debated, but councilors approved postponing the vote until this Wednesday due to the lack of councilors in favor of approval present in the Chamber.
Arguments
At a public hearing held last month, the project was discussed by interested parties. At the time, the Municipal Secretary of Public Order, Brenno Carneval, expressed his support for the proposal.
“The city government has the Maria da Penha Patrol, the safe BRT, where the armed officers will strengthen the security of the population of Rio. The Municipal Guard is already part of the public security system and the change in legislation would be in line with federal legislation. Besides Rio, only Recife does not use the weapon,” he argued.
The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and the Public Defender’s Office sent a letter, last Tuesday, to Rio’s city hall. The bodies understand that the project could constitute a misuse of the Municipal Guard’s function and pose risks to public safety. According to both entities, agents do not have adequate training to perform this role.
“MPF and the Public Defender’s Office believe that the proposal being processed in the Chamber, in the intended form, would give the Rio Municipal Guard the role of combating criminal activities and overt policing, which is not constitutionally foreseen”, defended the bodies in a joint note.
The statement also warns that the change could increase the diversion and illegal sale of weapons, considering that the guard does not have sufficient technical conditions to store the arsenal safely.
“MPF and the Public Defender’s Office also draw attention to the history of conflicts between the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Guard and street vendors. The entities believe that the eventual arming of the metropolitan force could lead to a worsening of their actions in relation to street vendors and, consequently, a greater violation of the human rights of this social group”, completes the statement.
Source: CNN Brasil

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