PSP officer Bruno Pinto sentenced to 3.5 years suspended for death of Odair Moniz in Cova da Moura
Sintra Court has sentenced PSP officer Bruno Pinto to three and a half years in suspended prison for the homicide of Odair Moniz. The court rejected the hate crime charge and invoked self-defence with excessive means.
Sintra Court sentences PSP officer for death of Odair Moniz in Cova da Moura
PSP officer Bruno Pinto was sentenced on Monday by Sintra Court to three years and six months in prison for homicide with eventual intent and excessive self-defence in the death of Odair Moniz, a 43-year-old Cape Verdean cook shot dead in Cova da Moura, Amadora, in October 2024. The sentence was suspended from execution, in a decision made unanimously by the three judges of the panel. According to oregioes.pt, the court also rejected the classification of the crime as a hate crime.
The officer was also sentenced to pay compensation of approximately 90,000 euros to Odair Moniz's family, plus a monthly allowance of 220 euros from the date of death until the victim's minor child reaches the age of majority. The court also annulled the accessory sentence of suspension from duties that had been imposed on Bruno Pinto at the time of the indictment, leaving it to the PSP to decide on any disciplinary sanctions within the framework of its internal inquiry.
Court finds that Odair Moniz did not wield a knife
The presiding judge of the panel stated that "abundant evidence was produced that Odair had no knife whatsoever" at the moment he was shot. Nevertheless, the court found that a situation of self-defence existed, although exercised "with excessive means", taking into account the "very special circumstances" of the incident — namely the threats of assault directed at the officer and the high physical proximity between the two.
Simple homicide is typically punished with a prison sentence of between eight and 16 years. The panel of judges justified the special mitigation of the sentence precisely with the existence of the situation of self-defence with excessive means. The sentence may still be subject to appeal.
Public Prosecution rejected the self-defence thesis
In final submissions last month, the Public Prosecution rejected the self-defence thesis invoked by Bruno Pinto's lawyers. The prosecutors argued that "it should be found as not proven that Odair Moniz was armed with a knife and that he used it to attempt to assault the officer", as reported at the time by Diário de Notícias.
For the Public Prosecution, even though Odair Moniz resisted arrest and did manage to assault the two PSP officers, there was no "situation of extreme violence". With the argument that "there are no reasons that justify the conduct of the defendant", the prosecutors also requested the permanent removal of Bruno Pinto from the performance of duties in the PSP. Sintra Court, however, referred that decision to the police force itself, without imposing any judicial measure in that regard, according to RTP.
The death of Odair Moniz in the early hours of 21 October 2024
Odair Moniz was hit by shots fired by officer Bruno Pinto during a police intervention in the early hours of 21 October 2024, in Cova da Moura, in the municipality of Amadora, following a pursuit and an attempted arrest.
The PSP released a statement at the time setting out that Odair Moniz had been intercepted after, "moments before", having "fled from police" using a vehicle, at 5.43 a.m. The police force added that the victim subsequently "resisted arrest" and attempted to assault the two officers "using a white weapon", which led one of the police officers to use his firearm. Odair Moniz did not survive his injuries.
Judicial Police investigation found no knife in the victim's hands
Cláudia Soares, chief inspector of the Judicial Police who coordinated the investigation, stated in court during the trial phase that surveillance footage taken at the moment of death did not show Odair Moniz with any white weapon. As reported by Lusa news agency, Soares described the victim as having been "violent" towards the officers and "resisted arrest", with the two police officers showing difficulty in carrying it out.
The chief inspector further clarified that when the Judicial Police team arrived at the scene, nobody mentioned the existence of a knife. The white weapon was found later, during the analysis of the crime scene, on the ground, next to Odair Moniz's bags. "When we arrived at the scene, the knife was not even mentioned. What is typical in such a scenario? The first thing to do is to move the knife aside and secure it, because it is a lethal object, keep it safe and say 'it is here'", Soares declared in court.
The inspector further stressed that "if a knife is handled, it is rare for there to be no biological trace", reinforcing doubts about the role of the white weapon in the events. Sintra Court accepted this reading of the facts, concluding that the knife was not wielded by Odair Moniz at the moment of the confrontation with the PSP officers.
Source: Google News PT — Crime (pt)