Police officer sentenced to 21 years for killing boy Bastián in Wilde
Buenos Aires officer received prison sentence and disqualification after firing repeatedly at unarmed robbers, resulting in the death of a ten-year-old boy.
Police officer sentenced to 21 years for killing boy Bastián in Wilde
Two years ago, in the town of Wilde in Buenos Aires province, a security officer shot dead a ten-year-old boy whilst attempting to prevent the theft of his vehicle. The incident sparked a legal case that concluded with the sentencing of the uniformed officer.
According to a report by Argentine News Agency, on 10 July 2023, Bastián Escalante Montoya was leaving football training with his mother, Johana, when they were caught in a volley of gunfire from a plainclothes officer attempting to thwart a robbery of his motorcycle. The boy tried to get away by cycling off, but surveillance footage captured the moment the shots struck him.
Expert analysis and examination of the recordings established that the criminals were not carrying guns and that all the bullets found at the scene came from officer García Tonzo's weapon. The child died at Perón hospital; an autopsy revealed that he suffered two impacts, one at the back of the neck and another on the back.
A citizen jury found him criminally responsible for the death of the child—classified as homicide aggravated by the use of a lethal weapon—and for attempted murder of the robbers, with the aggravating factor of excessive self-defence. The Criminal Oral Court Number 4 of Avellaneda sentenced him to twenty-one years in prison and a ten-year ban from public service.
The Public Ministry representative, Mariela Montero, had demanded twenty-five years in prison, whilst the family's lawyer, Matías Morla, sought thirty-five years. In her closing argument, the prosecutor stated that the defendant used his official pistol "recklessly, at a time of heavy foot traffic, in a neighbourhood with three schools and a club. He demonstrated disregard for the lives of others."
Before the verdict was announced, the defendant addressed the court: "I deeply regret what happened. If I could go back, I would prefer that I had been the one to die." In multiple interrogations he claimed that he pulled the trigger out of "panic and loss of control" when approached by motorcycle robbers, and maintained that "I did not see the boy at any moment."
The death of Bastián Escalante Montoya became a symbol of state violence and the effects of excessive use of police authority.
Source: Google News AR — Buenos Aires