PM who stepped on the neck of a black woman is convicted and will comply with an open regime

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo (MPSP) obtained the conviction of military police officer João Paulo Servato, who stepped on the neck of a 51-year-old black woman, during an occurrence in the south zone of São Paulo, in May 2020.

The police officer had been acquitted by the Military Justice of the State of São Paulo (TJM-SP) in August 2022, but the MPSP managed to reform this sentence to convict him. The decision took place on Tuesday (31), after an appeal filed by prosecutor Giovana Ortolano Guerreiro.

The three magistrates who participated in the new trial voted for Servato’s conviction, establishing a sentence of 1 year, 2 months and 12 days of imprisonment and 1 year of detention. The other military police officer who participated in the approach was also sentenced to 1 year, 2 months and 12 days in prison.

The TJM-SP said that the penalty applied is the maximum time foreseen for this type of crime and can be served in freedom. As a result, the police officer will serve the sentence in an open regime.

Violence during the approach was recorded

The video of the police approach in Parelheiros, in the south of São Paulo, was widely publicized at the time and shows the military police stepping on the neck of the victim, leaving her without reaction.

According to witnesses and the victim himself, the police approach would have started after a vehicle parked at the door of the establishment with a loud sound, disturbing neighbors, who then called the police.

Upon arriving at the scene, the police would have assaulted the woman’s friend – a moment also recorded in the video. She would have tried to interfere with the approach and ended up being assaulted by the police.

Still according to witnesses, the victim would have been dragged by the agents and passed out several times. The woman was taken to the hospital and after surgery on her leg, she had 16 stitches there.