Three killed in four days in ROTA operations in Greater São Paulo and coastal region
Elite São Paulo police battalion killed three people in less than a week while pursuing alleged individuals involved in an attempted assassination of a lieutenant in the military police.
Three killed in four days in ROTA operations in Greater São Paulo and coastal region
The ROTA shock battalion killed three people between Monday and Thursday in operations carried out in the capital, in the metropolitan region and on the south coast of São Paulo. The police officers claimed to be pursuing individuals linked to an attempted killing of Lieutenant Ronickson Pimentel dos Santos, 39 years old, brother of Eloá Pimentel — victim of a crime that marked the country in 2008.
The three incident reports explicitly cite the attack against the officer. However, in the two cases in which the deceased were identified, the state government denied any connection between them and the episode. A fourth death caused by the same battalion occurred in Guarulhos, but with no reference to the lieutenant in the corporation's records.
The latest fatality occurred on Thursday evening in Peruíbe. According to a police document to which Folha de S.Paulo had access, agents went to the coastal municipality after receiving confidential information about the hideout of a man known as Galego. The report associated him with a criminal group and the attack on the military officer.
The suspect was believed to be in a pickup truck. During patrols, the agents located the vehicle and the man allegedly ran to Cuiabá Street, where, according to the official account, gunfire broke out. Struck, he was taken to a local emergency care unit, where he died. The police reported using two rifle shots and three pistol shots.
Galego was later identified as Elenilson Misael da Silva, who was carrying a firearm. The incident was classified as death resulting from police action, illegal possession of a firearm and self-defence. The reporting team found that he had no criminal record. The Public Security Department clarified, in a statement, that there is no evidence so far of his involvement in the crime against the lieutenant.
On Wednesday morning, a second man — aged 30 — was killed in Vila Nancy, a neighbourhood in the Lageado district, east zone of the capital. ROTA said it had been informed about a member of a criminal faction who was in a white car and who allegedly had indirect involvement in the attack on the officer.
When approached, according to the police record, the young man allegedly drew a firearm in the direction of the agents, who responded with gunfire. He was indeed assisted with injuries to the mouth and back of the neck, but died in hospital. Documents, bank cards and a sum of money were found alongside the body. The vehicle, however, had a different registration plate from the one indicated in the original report.
In an interview given to the press, Captain Hillen Diniz stated that the deceased possibly had indirect involvement in the attempted homicide. The following day, however, the corporation issued an official statement stating that it did not consider the man a suspect in the attack.
The first death occurred in the early hours of Monday, on Aricanduva Road, also in the east zone. Once again, ROTA said it had been alerted by an anonymous report about someone involved in the attempted killing of a military police officer. The agents reported that, upon arriving at the address, they were shot at and had to return fire. The body, not yet identified, had perforations on the chest and back. The road is unpaved, without infrastructure or lighting, situated in a socially vulnerable area.
All agents involved were wearing body camera equipment, but the recordings were not released along with the records of the operations.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo