Military police officer Rafael Castanho Freitas, 34, who executed a suspect with two shots to the head after an approach in Guarulhos, Greater São Paulo, participated in at least two other incidents that ended in death.
THE CNN did research on open legal sources, which show that the incidents also took place in Guarulhos and had similar reports, in which the suspects were shot after reacting.
The first incident is from September 2021, in which police officer Castanho and other agents were called to respond to a request for a robbery at a residence in the Parque Jurema neighborhood, in Guarulhos. According to reports in the police report, when the police arrived at the scene, the suspects fled.
Afterwards, the police managed to surround one of the suspects, identified as Guilherme Augusto de Sousa, on the street behind the house. Right now, Sousa allegedly fired a shot at the officers, who returned fire and shot the suspect three times in the chest. who was rescued, but died. One of the shots was allegedly fired by Castanho, according to the document.
In the other incident, in August this year, police officer Castanho was on patrol in the Pimentas neighborhood, in Guarulhos, when suspects who were in a stolen car abandoned the vehicle and fled. According to the report, after a chase lasting approximately five minutes, the police captured William Francisco de Oliveira.
After catching up with the suspect, police officer Castanho got into a physical fight with Oliveira, who allegedly pulled out a gun and fired several shots, but the ammunition “split”, according to the report. The officer then fired two shots that struck the suspect. . He was rescued, but died.
The report questioned the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) about the police officer’s actions after the incidents, but has not yet received any feedback. The space remains open for possible demonstrations.
Body cameras
The images showing the police officer shooting in the direction of the suspect after resisting an approach in Guarulhos are from August 3, but were only released this week.
In the body camera video, it is possible to see that during the collision, the suspect tries to pull out an object. According to the police officer, it was a weapon. The police officer then removes the object from the man’s hand and fires two shots at the suspect’s head, who died.
In a statement, the São Paulo State Police Ombudsman’s Office said that the record demonstrates, in a first analysis, a procedural error, which, according to the agency, has become a common fact in the escalation of police violence.
Regarding this case, the SSP reported that it opened an investigation to investigate the circumstances of the incident. “On that occasion, two individuals in a stolen vehicle tried to flee upon seeing the police team. After monitoring, an approach was carried out and one of the suspects was arrested. The second got into a physical fight and pulled out a revolver at the agent, who intervened”, added the ministry.
This content was originally published in PM who executed suspect responsible for two other homicides in SP on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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