Deic police officers are investigated for abuse of authority during approach in SP

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo ordered the opening of a police investigation to investigate the actions of two civil police officers from the State Department of Criminal Investigations (Deic) during an approach in the East Zone of São Paulo.

THE CNN had access to security camera footage that captured a vehicle being approached by three armed officers who got out of an unmarked vehicle. At that moment, two young men got out of the car and fled while the driver argued with the police officers.

The footage then shows the alleged suspect approaching the officers and one of them slaps him. The man staggers back and raises his hands. The armed officer knocks him to the ground and is restrained.

Still during the security camera video, it is possible to see when the man is handcuffed and one of the agents steps on his head. The rest of the team searches for the young men who ran out of the car.

According to the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MPSP), the case took place on July 29, around 10:30 pm, on Rua Flor de Madeira, Vila Jacuí, East Zone of the capital of São Paulo.

A police investigation previously determined whether alleged crimes of disobedience and resistance were committed by Fábio Rodrigues da Paixão, the man approached in the images. According to the São Paulo Court, at the time of his arrest, he paid a fine of R$10,000 and was released.

What the Public Prosecutor’s Office said

In response, the MPSP understood that the crimes of disobedience and resistance were not characterized by the man approached and the accused could have doubts about the legitimacy of the action.

“In fact, the civil police officers were in an unmarked vehicle, without a flashing light, and were not wearing badges or official clothing, so the person under investigation was not in a position to know whether they were actually law enforcement officers or armed criminals who were going to approach him,” said prosecutor Luciana Frugiuele.

The Prosecutor’s Office also confirmed that there was no crime of resistance.

“What we see in the images is that the suspect got out of the car and simply opened his arms, gesturing in front of one of the police officers, but he did not oppose the approach, did not use violence or serious threats, did not make any attempt to draw a weapon or engage in physical combat,” the prosecutor added.

What does the defense of the person being approached say?

Fábio Rodrigues da Paixão’s lawyer highlighted that his client was the target of a violent approach by the civil police “without any plausible justification for this, because there was no court order and much less a possible flagrant crime”.

The defense of the approached man, Sean Kompier Abib, also stated that Fábio was in the company of his two children in the car when he was approached, and he told his children to run because he did not know that they were unmarked vehicles.

“The facts here reveal the importance of police actions being monitored in every possible way, because without visual evidence the truth of the facts would never come to light,” the defense said in a statement.

Police statement

In a statement to the police, one of the investigated agents stated that at the beginning of the night of the approach he received information that three criminal agents were wanted by the Justice Department in a community in a Nivus model car.

According to the report, the officer and his partner spotted the vehicle in question parked on the aforementioned street and activated the lights and sound devices to approach it. However, “the vehicle in question took off and began to flee from the officers, who remained in pursuit,” he told the Police.

According to the statement, Fábio was taken to the police station and it was found that he “was not in the condition of a Wanted Person, despite having several criminal records for the practice of very serious crimes”, he said.