Man who pointed gun at young black man in SP is a civil police officer, says secretariat

The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) confirmed this Wednesday (15) that the man who appears in a video threatening a young black man with a gun in front of a subway station in the capital of São Paulo is an investigator from the civil police. The agent’s name was not released.

The case occurred last Sunday (12) in front of Carandiru station, in the north of the city. In the images, it is possible to see a man holding the black boy by the neck while offending him numerous times. Other people present at the scene shout phrases such as “don’t steal” and “there are jobs for everyone, go look for a job”.

Moments later, a man pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot the young man. In the video, a woman refers to the investigator as “Paulo”.

After being threatened, the young man asked for help from a military police officer who was at the scene and was wearing a t-shirt with the PM symbol. The agent, however, said that she wouldn’t do anything because she was “off duty” and kicked the boy in the stomach.

Internal Affairs investigation

The SSP reported that the police officer filmed refusing help to the boy will face criminal and disciplinary action for the omission. In a statement, the SSP-SP said that her conduct was considered serious and that “it does not comply with society’s expectations, much less with the responsibilities of public security professionals, who must act promptly whenever they witness a crime, whether or not they are in service”.

In an interview with CNN this Wednesday, the São Paulo police ombudsman, Claudio Aparecido da Silva, stated that the police officer “is subject to a regulation that determines that she is a PM with or without a uniform, 24 hours a day”.

“According to standard operating procedure, she was supposed to protect the victim, identify the victim and perpetrator, and forward them to the police station,” he added.

According to the ombudsman, there is a possibility that the professional could be removed. However, due to the seriousness of the facts, she may suffer more severe punishments, such as expulsion from the corporation. “Her inaction was very serious and the repercussion of the video itself shows this.”

(Published by Fábio Munhoz. With information from Vital Neto and Marcos Rosendo)