Police officers charged with homicide in Canelones: family demands justice with "considerable evidence"
The parents of a 30-year-old man who died after being transported by police in Canelones are demanding justice. An autopsy revealed a skull fracture as the cause of death.
Family of young man who died in Canelones demands justice following charges against three police officers
The parents of a 30-year-old man who died on 21 July in the Canelones department after being transported by police officers called for justice before cameras at subrayado.com.uy and asserted they possessed abundant evidence against the accused.
"We have to keep fighting to prove that they are the ones who killed him (...) there is considerable evidence. There is the GPS from the mobile phone showing where they stopped, all the evidence is there. We have to keep fighting to find justice, so that my son can rest in peace," said Gianela Corujo, the young man's mother.
Her husband, Fernando Machín, recounted that that night they were at home watching Uruguay's match when their son arrived "somewhat agitated". They called the police to take him to San Ramón hospital to receive care. "Always trusting the police, I was a police officer for 30 years," he said. Machín stated they never imagined what would happen afterwards. "He left San Ramón hospital fine, he was walking (...) and he arrived home dead."
The mother further indicated that the nurses' statement showed that the young man got into the patrol car screaming and that the vehicle was moving, as if they were hitting him. Corujo stressed that her son never had conflicts with any police officer. "The brother is a police officer and the father is a police officer, we were raised in a police family, we trust the police," she said.
When asked what the officers told her when they left him at the house, the mother replied they told her he "was going to sleep for two days". She thought they had administered some medication at the hospital, but discounted that hypothesis after learning the autopsy results.
Prosecutor's account and forensic findings
The prosecutor in the case, Luján Gómez, specified that the young man had previous consumption of psychoactive substances and that the family had him under supervision when the police went to find him. The doctor who treated him noted injuries which, according to Gómez, could have caused his death. Following that examination, the officers returned him to the house, where he arrived unconscious and unresponsive.
"The family initially thought he had been given some medication to sedate him. The truth is that at a certain point the family realised he had no vital signs," the prosecutor recounted. A neighbouring doctor was called and they decided to take him urgently to Canelones Hospital, where he died despite resuscitation efforts.
The forensic autopsy determined that the young man had a skull fracture which, combined with other medical complications, resulted in death.
Two stops without justification and multiple injuries
The family's lawyer, Nicolás Hornes, argued that the young man was taken to San Ramón Hospital without any visible injuries and that, an hour and a half later, the same three police officers returned him home dead, with multiple injuries, fractures and an open skull.
"There were two stops, one lasting two minutes and another lasting nine minutes, without any justification. The direct order from the police officers was to return him to the house," Hornes stated.
Defence of the accused officers
The police officers' lawyer, Joaquín Abal, argued that, after hearing the principal evidence supporting the prosecution's theory, he found no reason to be present at the hearing alongside his clients. Abal claimed that if the doctor who treated the young man had properly performed his duty, his clients would not find themselves in this situation.
Source: Google News UY — Crime