Family of Odair Moniz appeals to Court of Appeal and demands effective prison sentence for PSP officer
The family of the Cape Verdean cook killed by gunshot by Bruno Pinto in October 2024 is challenging the suspended sentence and calling for the officer's expulsion from the PSP. The Public Prosecutor's office has also appealed.
Appeal seeks effective prison sentence and expulsion of Bruno Pinto from PSP
The family of Odair Moniz has filed an appeal of the judgment from Sintra Court with the Lisbon Court of Appeal on Thursday, demanding that PSP officer Bruno Pinto serve an effective prison sentence and be barred from exercising police functions. The 43-year-old Cape Verdean cook died after being struck by two shots from the officer in October 2024.
Lawyer José Semedo Fernandes contests the judges' decision, which, having convicted Bruno Pinto of the homicide of Odair Moniz on the grounds of indirect intent and excess self-defence, reduced the sentence to a three-and-a-half-year suspension. According to the solicitor, there was direct intent, not indirect, and he argues for the application of the ancillary measure of expulsion.
Contradictions in the judgment
Semedo Fernandes points to several internal contradictions in the judgment. The court concluded that there was self-defence with excess, but, according to the lawyer, it simultaneously established facts incompatible with the requirements of necessity, adequacy and proportionality. The court acknowledged the physical resistance of an unarmed victim, described the shot as an "instinctive act of defence" and, at the same time, admitted the existence of intent to commit homicide and of censurable excess — yet still opted for a special mitigation of the sentence.
The lawyer also invokes the regulations governing police intervention and the decree-law on the use of firearms by the police against unarmed persons: even in the face of resistance or physical assault, the officer is bound by the principles of necessity, adequacy and proportionality, and resort to a firearm must constitute an extreme measure, only available after exhausting less serious alternatives. Semedo Fernandes also cites PSP internal rules on drawing and using a firearm in situations of physical confrontation.
The appeal also challenges the amount of compensation set by the court for the family — approximately 90,000 euros — and the 220 euros per month owed from the date of Odair Moniz's death until his minor son comes of age.
PSP prepares officer's return to duty
As Público reported, the PSP confirmed this week that Bruno Pinto will return to duty, without specifying a date or functions. In June, when the judgment was handed down, the court did not apply the ancillary penalty of expulsion and left it to the PSP to decide on the officer's return. The Inspectorate General of Internal Administration (IGAI) reported that the disciplinary process initiated against the officer awaits the judgment becoming final.
In the reasoning of the judgment, the judges considered that Bruno Pinto's conduct cannot be seen "as unworthy or as having occurred with 'flagrant and serious' abuse of his function or 'manifest and serious' breach of the duties incumbent upon him".
Public Prosecutor's office has also appealed
The prosecutor, Pedro Pereira, has also filed an appeal, arguing that the officer fired with direct intent and not in excess of self-defence. The Public Prosecutor's office accuses the court of erring in not ordering suspension of functions, arguing that the officer "acted in serious abuse of his function" and that "anyone who cannot control their impulses when exercising a profession with the demands of the defendant's profession cannot maintain the trust that is required of those exercising the functions of a PSP officer". Bruno Pinto's defence lawyer, Ricardo Serrano, had also announced an appeal at the time of the judgment.
What was proven at trial
Bruno Pinto was 28 years old and had less than two years of service with the PSP when he fired on Odair Moniz. The trial took place from October 2025, with dozens of witnesses heard.
The court established as proven that the stop "began as a result of Odair's hesitant driving", a situation that justified the police approach, to which the cook "reacted vigorously, agilely and violently". It was also proven that Odair Moniz was not holding any knife at the moment of the shots — the only witness to claim otherwise was Bruno Pinto himself, this being the only point at which the court considered his testimony not credible.
The officer justified the two shots by the fact that he had seen a knife. The object — with a total length of 25 centimetres, serrated blade of 15 centimetres bearing the inscription "Macho" and black plastic handle of 10 centimetres — was found at the scene, but there are contradictory accounts of where and when it was seen. Images captured by a resident show that the knife was only detected 27 minutes after the fatal shots.
In addition to Bruno Pinto, two other officers were accused by the Public Prosecutor's office of having given false testimony about having seen the knife. The investigating judge discharged them, considering that they had been heard as witnesses and that, therefore, they had been illegally accused. The Public Prosecutor's office has also appealed this decision.
Source: Público