Police officer who blinded a young man in Montevideo again involved in violent incident
The officer accused of firing rubber bullets in Rivera Park was filmed reacting violently towards a young man in the New Centre.
Same police officer, new video of violence in Montevideo
According to montevideo.com.uy, the police officer accused of blinding Sander, a 25-year-old panel beater, was again recorded in a violent incident last weekend in the New Centre area.
The history weighing against the uniformed officer dates back to June of this year. During a car meet in Rivera Park, police intervened as part of a pursuit of motorcycles. Some of the officers began firing rubber bullets when some people present tried to calm the situation, as there were children at the location. Sander, who according to his own account was seeking to protect the children from the projectiles, was shot in both eyes. The shot to his left eye resulted in loss of vision.
The severity of the injuries has so far made it impossible to carry out the necessary operation: an infection in the eye cavity makes surgical procedure impossible. Upon losing his sight, Sander was unable to continue working as a panel beater and lost his job, being the sole support of his family. Together with criminal lawyer Marcos Pacheco, he initiated legal action against the officer identified in the images firing the rubber bullets. "He was acting wild," Sander declared at the time to montevideo.com.uy, describing the police officer's behaviour during the incident.
The new video, which went viral over the weekend, shows the same officer reacting aggressively upon noticing that a young man was filming him in the context of a traffic incident. "If I see my face in any video on social media, I'm going to file a civil complaint against you," the police officer shouts at the young man.
The boy responds that he is a public official and asks him: "Are you going to hit me?". The uniformed officer demands that he stop filming him, under threat of arrest. After an exchange of words, the officer declares: "You're under arrest," proceeds to restrain the young man and leaves him on the pavement holding him by the neck, whilst the detainee shows clear signs of asphyxiation.
Source: Google News UY — Montevideo