The Federal Police (PF) indicted 40 police officers for participating in an operation that left 26 dead in a massacre in Varginha (MG) on October 31, 2021.
Of the total of those indicted, 24 are from the elite group of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) and 16 work in the Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) of the Military Police of Minas Gerais.
You 40 police officers were indicted for qualified homicide, torture and procedural fraud.
CNN had access to the PF report. In it, the case delegate narrates the day of the crime: “around 5:00 am, at dawn, waiting for the first sign of sunlight, the police device was already in place – precision shooters positioned in privileged locations, military personnel lined up on the right side of the property, PRF close to the wall facing the street – and having already decided to attack the property, entry maneuvers began. First, a PRF truck knocks down the Sítio’s main gate.”
The investigator continues: “Soon after, the tactical team begins entering the perimeter, shooting at the front windows of the building. A fraction of the troop walks to the main entrance and breaks down the room door. A group enters the property and begins to visualize those who were there and who, at that point, were running, newly awakened, disoriented and in despair without understanding what was happening. Everyone was shot.”
“Anyone who passes through the police’s sights is shot. End of action: 26 dead. No police officers injured. Approximately 500 shots fired by State agents. Approximately 300 detonated cartridges found by forensics. Only 20 shots attributed to the robbers' weapons. In this regard, it is necessary to highlight those for which the evidence points to a simulated shooting carried out by the police officers themselves”, detailed the PF, in the document sent to the Federal Court.
The Federal Police also highlights possible procedural fraud and says that on May 14, 2023, two years after the occurrence of the facts investigated, the technical defense of the federal highway police officers requested, without justifying why, the addition of videos allegedly produced at eve of the action. The content of the videos are aerial images produced by a drone – supposedly controlled by one of the police officers who acted in the police raid and reveal the so-called Site 1 and Site 2 before the death of the suspects.
“In truth, the untimely provision of the aforementioned images revealed, subject to better judgment, a serious lack of commitment on the part of the Federal Highway Police with the present investigation. What is the reason why this material was not promptly handed over to the police authorities on the day of the incident? What is the reason why all federal highway police officers were interviewed at administrative and police headquarters and forgot such relevant information? Where was this material the last two years? Who knew about it?” asked the case delegate.
Remember the case
On October 31, 2021, 26 people were killed in two places in Varginha in an operation by the PRF and PMMG. The operation aimed to combat an attack by a group of bank robbers. According to investigations at the time, the group would rob a bank the following day.
The criminals were from six units of the federation (Amazonas, Federal District, Goiás, Pará, Rondônia and São Paulo).
At the time, the PRF – responsible for highways – considered the operation a success against organized crime, but expert reconstruction shows that some of the people killed were unarmed or lying down and hiding under tables.
Other side
CNN sought out the PRF and PMMG to comment on the case. The Federal Highway Police responded in a statement that “they fought a criminal group dedicated to taking over cities to commit illegal acts, a practice of banditry commonly known as 'Novo Cangaço'”. And that, “in the incident, a large amount of weapons were seized: a machine gun. 50, large-caliber rifles, pistols, dozens of kilos of explosives and a large quantity of magazines and ammunition.”
“The PRF highlights its commitment to constitutional limits and the defense of the democratic rule of law, including the principle of presumption of innocence of agents, the guarantee of due legal process, adversarial proceedings and broad defense. The Federal Highway Police collaborates with the competent bodies to clarify all aspects of the incident. At the administrative level, the PRF General Inspectorate reopened the investigative procedure in 2023 due to the emergence of new evidence”, concludes the note.
Source: CNN Brasil
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