{"id":62115,"date":"2020-09-18T14:32:39","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T17:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=62115"},"modified":"2020-09-19T15:21:51","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T18:21:51","slug":"public-works-and-a-foot-in-the-door-police-occupation-is-new-normal-in-complexo-do-viradouro-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=62115","title":{"rendered":"Public Works and a Foot in the Door: Police Occupation is \u2018New Normal\u2019 in Complexo do Viradouro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This is our latest article on the\u00a0<\/i>Covid-19 and its impacts on the favelas<\/a>.<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

Residents of the Complexo do Viradouro favelas of Niter\u00f3i<\/a>, Rio de Janeiro’s sister city across the Guanabara Bay, were surprised by the challenges of living through the Covid-19<\/a> pandemic alongside another \u201cnew normal\u201d: that of an ongoing police occupation. Since August 19, residents have been under the control of the Special Operations Command (COE), the Canine Action Batallion (BAC), the Shock Police Batallion<\/a>\u00a0(BPChq), and the Special Operations Battalion<\/a> (BOPE, akin to the SWAT in the United States). The operation is taking place even in the time of Brazilian Supreme Court order ADPF 635<\/a>, which has suspended police operations in favelas<\/a> of Rio during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The ongoing operation “was communicated ahead of time to the Public Prosecutor<\/a> and is set to continue for an indefinite period of time,” the State Secretary of Military Police told RioOnWatch <\/em>in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community did not oppose the operation at the outset, but after two days of violations, residents began to give visibility to police abuses,\u201d explained Jos\u00e9.*<\/p>\n

Fifteen days ago, RioOnWatch<\/em> received reports and complaints of police violence from residents. They are abuses committed at any time of day: physical and verbal assaults, invasions of homes, abusive searches, and even torture by state public security agents.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel afraid of going through a situation of police occupation, where you are not sure of anything. You leave the house and don’t know what will happen, whether they will enter your house [while you’re one] or not. There are reports that they not only invaded homes, but verbally assaulted women and that there were even physical attacks. There was a neighbor who saw them [the police] entering a resident’s house and shouted a warning: \u2018That\u2019s a resident’s house. Don’t do that!\u2019 They did it! And they even went there to attack that lady. It\u2019s a terror!,\u201d said Jo\u00e3o.*<\/p>\n

The atmosphere is very fearful inside the community formed by Largo da Garganta and various favelas on hillsides: Africano, Uni\u00e3o, Papagaio, Viradouro, and Cruz. With Morro do Zulu and Atalaia as neighboring communities, they are all located between Santa Rosa, Pendotiba and S\u00e3o Francisco, with access through Estrada da Garganta and Estrada Cachoeira, in Niter\u00f3i.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cUnfortunately, this is a pattern of police behavior towards those who live inside the communities. And we live through this on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday\u2026 The moto-taxi drivers wanted to work and they didn’t let them. They [the police] didn\u2019t just prevent them, they even threatened to throw grenades at the moto-taxi point. Absurd,\u201d said Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n

According to him, motorcycle taxi drivers had to move to another location farther down Jos\u00e9 Gomes da Cruz Street to be able to work and serve residents. Motorcycle taxi drivers have been recognized as an official profession in Brazil, regulated by law, since July 2009.<\/p>\n

The so-called ADPF das Favelas<\/a> Supreme Court decision\u00a0is a symbolic victory for social movements and favelas. But despite restricting police operations under penalty of civil and criminal accountability during the Covid-19 pandemic, it leaves room for the use of state security forces, a window for these police operations to be carried out in \u201cexceptional\u201d cases. In case such an exceptional need is to be claimed, however, the security forces must first communicate notice to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, informing the conditions of this exceptionality.<\/p>\n

That is exactly what the Military Police<\/a>\u00a0has been doing in several favelas throughout the Greater Rio metropolitan region<\/a> since the ADPF came into force. As required, the Military Police sends a prior notice to the Public Prosecutor\u2014responsible for the external control of police activity\u2014informs the exceptionality, and acts. We have a new standard of action for the State Secretary of Military Police under the ADPF.<\/p>\n

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In some of Brazil\u2019s public security institutions, there exists a culture that external checks should be handled after and not prior to the fact. In this way, the ADPF can be interpreted as a protocol for the notification of exceptionalities, and not necessarily a request for the authorization of action from the Public Prosecutor.<\/p>\n

The ADPF restricts actions in favelas during the pandemic. Therefore, it helps prevent police missteps through the mandatory submission of a justification, which facilitates possible external supervision and evaluation by the Prosecutor’s Office and Supreme Court. At the same time, however, it does not totally prevent police occupations of favelas, because a prerogative remains for the State to act in “exceptional cases” in the realm of public security.<\/p>\n

The statement sent by the Center for Operational Support of Criminal Justice Prosecutors<\/a> from the Public Prosecutor reveals this game. When reached by RioOnWatch<\/em>, the institution confirmed that it received confirmation of the operation in Complexo do Viradouro from the Military Police\u00a0 on August 19, and that it “forwarded the case to the prosecutors with attributions for analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Jo\u00e3o’s days remain ruled by this \u201cnew normal,\u201d not only due to the effects of the global health crisis, but also due to a police occupation in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day it gets worse. [On August 30] there was a case here of a guy who got captured and badly beat. They broke his ribs, cut [him] with a knife. That was at night. And you don’t know… yesterday it was him, tomorrow it could be me. You don’t know what’s going on. You leave for work and when you come back\u2026 you don\u2019t know. What legislation is this that authorizes a policeman who is circling, at nearly midnight, on the hill to pick up anyone, randomly, to beat up? To enter the resident’s home without a court order? It’s all wrong, right?\u201d Jo\u00e3o said.<\/p>\n

RioOnWatch<\/em> reached out to the Military Police of the State of Rio de Janeiro (PMERJ) to find out what exceptionality justified the decision of a police operation in Complexo do Viradouro. According to the newspaper O S\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alo<\/em><\/a>, the decision behind the police occupation was due to supposed extortion by local drug traffickers<\/a> in exchange for access to public services. Yet, the State Secretary of the Military Police did not confirm this information. They just said that the \u201cexceptionality\u201d followed the legal requirements and that the decision rests with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In this context, RioOnWatch<\/em> again sought out the Public Prosecutor. By email, we asked the following questions: \u201cWhat was the exceptionality presented for a permanent and continuous occupation by PMERJ of Complexo do Viradouro? Was the Prosecutor aware that the operation on August 19 was treated like a police occupation? Did PMERJ inform them that the operation was of \u201cindefinite length\u201d? Ten days passed with no response.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Expected Public Works, Not Police!\u201d<\/h3>\n

Residents of the Viradouro Complex were anxiously awaiting the start of infrastructure projects promised by the City of Niter\u00f3i, with an investment of R$50 million<\/a> (US$9.5 million). The improvement project foresees the building of containment slopes and improved sanitation, the installation of a digital urban platform, a technical school, a cultural center, a multi-sport court and three new community spaces with leisure equipment. However, along with the dreams of improvements, along with the construction, a foot kicked in the front door.<\/p>\n

One of the courts with gym equipment for the elderly was destroyed. It will give way to a police booth. Divided into three phases<\/a>, the police occupation in the Viradouro Complex foresees the installation of two police booths for the permanence of continuous policing in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expected public works, not police! But apparently, they took advantage of the justification of construction to send the police. Instead of them [police] gaining support, they are losing their prestige in the community because of the way this operation is being carried out,\u201d affirmed Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n

In front of the houses invaded by the police, residents started pasting handwritten notices on the doors asking for respect: \u201cPolice officers. Don’t break into my house again. I left to go to work. I’m only coming back at night. Home of a Resident. Good morning, Good afternoon, Good night. [Signed,] Resident.\u201d The notices are cordial as a form of mediation against the rifles, hooded men and brutality. Some even draw hearts on the notes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The police abuses follow a pattern. Upon entering the community, if the house is closed, the door is broken in. Inside the houses, the police throw things in the air searching everything, including electrical circuit breakers. They break plaster ceilings, eat food from the resident’s refrigerator, and even steal things that they judge to be of value. \u201cSmall business owners were missing money, products from inside the house and from their businesses. It is this routine that occurs in the communities, in addition to abuse of the elderly. They entered the woman\u2019s house screaming in ignorance,\u201d said Jos\u00e9.<\/p>\n

The climate within the community is one of panic. Residents fear police reprisals. Jos\u00e9 only decided to speak because he hopes that the exposure of this violence will help curb the abuse and prevent a tragedy. And also to \u201cgain a voice and be able to breathe.\u201d He clamored: \u201cThere has to be someone to shout for us! Because our voice is very difficult to be heard by our elite.”<\/p>\n

According to the newspaper O Globo<\/em><\/a> “the operation would have started at the request of Mayor Rodrigo Neves to Governor Wilson Witzel<\/a>,” with authorization from the police command as part of a request from the City of Niter\u00f3i to carry out the construction. \u201cWe in the community only know what comes out in the press. Until now no one knows the real reason for this,\u201d said Jo\u00e3o.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we heard about the operation at Complexo do Viradouro, we understood that it was urgent to demand explanations from City Hall and the Military Police. We also consider it necessary to resort to the Public Prosecutor, the Public Defender’s Office<\/a> and the National Council of Human Rights to verify the legality of this operation, since a decision by the Supreme Court prohibits police operations in the context of the pandemic, except in exceptional circumstances, which, in this case, are not clear,\u201d said the president of the Human Rights Commission of the City Council of Niter\u00f3i, Councilman Renatinho do PSOL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He sent letters to the Niter\u00f3i city government and the 12th Military Police Battalion asking for clarification about the police occupation at the Viradouro Complex, on August 20. Among the questions, the councilman asked: \u201cDid the City of Niter\u00f3i in any way request, recommend or encourage the occupation of the Viradouro Complex by PMERJ? On what terms will City Hall collaborate with the aforementioned occupation of the Viradouro Complex?\u201d The letters have a response deadline of 20 days, extendable for another ten.<\/p>\n

Federal congresswoman Tal\u00edria Petrone and state congressman Fl\u00e1vio Serafini, lawmakers representing the city of Niter\u00f3i, also sent letters on August 25. They ask for an appointment with Mayor Rodrigo Neves, in the presence of Colonel Sylvio Guerra, commander of the 12th Battalion of the Military Police.<\/p>\n

Residents Mobilize #RespectResidentHomes<\/h3>\n

On August 26, residents held the protest \u201cUs for Ourselves at Morro da Uni\u00e3o\u201d organized and carried out by black women of the community, who produced signs made of sheets to be placed on the windows and walls of resident homes with the hashtag #LarDeMoradorRespeite<\/a> (#RespectResidentHomes).<\/p>\n

Residents also pamphleted homes to raise awareness of police abuse. They are using a strategy of whistling when police officers enter the homes to search, so that other residents go to the house in question and supervise the work of the police. \u201cIt’s us for us\u2026The whistle is coming from Carol’s house, let’s go to Carol’s house to show that this resident is not alone. When the police enter our house, we say so. The police entered Larissa’s house and Larissa spoke, shared it with everyone here… But that was afterward. The idea is that we have to act before [the police enter]\u2026 [The police officer normally argues] ‘Ah, but I\u2019m just looking.\u2019 Yeah, but you will look with a ton of residents watching you,\u201d explains a resident in the video Us for Us<\/em><\/a>. The #LarDeMoradorRespeite resistance movement started at Morro da Uni\u00e3o and inspired other black women from other favelas<\/a> that form the Complexo do Viradouro.<\/p>\n