Prosecutor seeks preventive custody for police officer who killed 8-year-old child in Huacho
Peru's Public Prosecutor's Office requested nine months of preventive custody for sub-officer Luis Nazario, under investigation for shooting and killing a minor in Huacho.
Sub-officer detained following child's death during police operation in Huacho
Peru's Public Prosecutor's Office requested nine months of preventive custody for Luis Nazario, a police sub-officer detained and under investigation for the death of an 8-year-old child during an operation in Huacho, a city located north of the Lima region. This was reported by abc.com.py on Tuesday, citing an official statement from the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The Provincial Criminal Prosecution Office of Huaura is investigating Nazario for the alleged commission of manslaughter in the case of the minor. Deputy prosecutor Fernando Ayala stated that the officer's action "would have been disproportionate, with no prior warning nor real risk situation that would warrant the shooting".
The child was travelling with his mother in a mototaxi
According to local media, the child died on Sunday at the Children's Hospital in Lima, where he had been transferred in critical condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. The incident originated when the mototaxi in which the minor was travelling with his mother had an accident, which prompted the police intervention. Subsequently, an altercation occurred between the driver and other persons present at the scene.
On Monday, the Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the minor "died following a police operation in Huacho" and that the officer was "detained in flagrante and would have caused the victim's death with a gunshot".
Forensic experts, cameras and testimony, part of the investigation
Prosecutor Ayala ordered the seizure of the weapon used by Nazario and ordered the carrying out of a ballistic examination and an atomic absorption test. In addition, he instructed the taking of statements from all officers who participated in the operation.
The prosecution also requested the collection of recordings from surveillance cameras installed in the area, as well as a video recorded by eyewitnesses to the fact, among other measures considered urgent to establish those responsible in the case.
Case coincides with controversial law coming into force
The investigation takes place in parallel with the entry into force of a controversial law that excludes police officers and military personnel from ordinary justice for offences committed in the exercise of their duties. Human rights defence organisations reject the law, considering it a mechanism of impunity for state agents responsible for deaths.
Source: Google News PE — Crime