Video footage of five Brazilian police officers shooting a teenage boy at point blank range and apparently unprovoked has emerged.
The footage — captured by a security camera in the city of Manaus — shows uniformed men pushing the 14-year-old during a raid in a poor district of the Amazon city before shooting him in the chest.
The video shows the teenager standing against a wall surrounded by officers. He is shot by one of them but remains standing; he later appears to be shot several more times.
Although it can't be heard, the boy's mother began screaming for help in the background when she found out what was happening, said Amazonas state prosecutor Joao Bosco Sa Valente, according to the Associated Press.
The boy, who survived despite several wounds, is now in a witness protection program along with his family. Police in Brazil are frequently accused of using excessive force against criminal suspects, including extrajudicial execution, according to the BBC.
The Manaus incident reportedly took place on Aug. 17, 2010, but the footage was held back until this week, as the boy's family and the person in charge of the security camera feared retaliation if it was made public, according to prosecutors.
The officers have reportedly been arrested and Valente said they would face charges of attempted homicide.
"I have been fighting organized crime for 30 years, but every time I see those images I feel indignation and disgust," the prosecutor told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, according to the BBC.
03-25-2011, 10:37
mx'r
Damn, that made my guts turn. I have a 14 year old, and couldnt imagine watching that happen.
03-25-2011, 10:43
Irving
Brazil has a crazy Scared Straight program.
Toward the end, it looks like the police were shooting at each other.
03-25-2011, 10:44
alxone
that was awful , he was not, running , resisting or anything like that , those cops are true a**holes . I dont care if he is the king pin of the biggest coke ring on the planet that was wrong in every way .
03-25-2011, 10:50
ghettodub
Jesus, how did that kid even survive that? Were they rubber bullets or something? I saw something in that article that one punctured his lung, but I don't get how he survived a few up close shots like that
03-25-2011, 10:56
Mtn.man
Kinda looks like some were off the wall and what were they using?
03-25-2011, 10:56
Bailey Guns
Imagine what goes on in some places where there are no video cameras.
03-25-2011, 10:56
Irving
I forgot to mention that it is pretty lame (terrible) when a bunch of full grown men surround a kid like that, and resort to using their weapons like they did.
03-25-2011, 10:57
Mtn.man
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I forgot to mention that it is pretty lame (terrible) when a bunch of full grown men surround a kid like that, and resort to using their weapons like they did.
sorta like Denver PD
03-25-2011, 10:59
hurley842002
Good God, Poor kid, that sure doesn't give much hope for humanity
Makes you wonder what caliber it was, probably 9mm, kind of throws "knock down power" out the window (for those who believe in that sort of thing).
03-25-2011, 11:21
CrufflerSteve
Brazil is noted for its police working as death squads against poor kids, especially any that dare come close to areas the wealthy or tourists hang out. It's a mess. When they're had some international conferences and such that get world attention, who piles of poor kids like this just disappear.
The only difference is that it was video taped. I really think that equipping everybody with the a video camera is actually a big win for freedom since abuses are no longer private.
I know there are some LEO's on this board who are upset about attitudes here. I'm rather upset by LEO's, DA's and such who are opposed to the taping of police activities. I can see that there might be some narrow areas of preventing taping like protecting the privacy of a crime victim or showing gory accidents. In doing their job I don't think police have a reasonable right of privacy when interacting with the public. Reason magazine has collected piles of stories of attempts by law enforcement groups to ban the taping of their activities and quite a few arrests and prosecutions of people doing taping.
Steve
03-25-2011, 11:26
BushMasterBoy
The State...
The state as a criminal, what a novel concept...
03-25-2011, 12:03
hip55
Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely
03-25-2011, 12:23
Elhuero
in many places around the world, corruption is a way of life.
take a wild guess what I think should happen to the police in the video.
03-25-2011, 12:24
Irving
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elhuero
take a wild guess what I think should happen to the police in the video.
Paid leave during the investigation, of course.
03-25-2011, 12:43
patrick0685
thats terrible, thank God the kid didnt die
03-25-2011, 13:01
Ah Pook
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mtn.man
sorta like Denver PD
Too dumb to look for cameras first?
03-25-2011, 13:20
rondog
I'm pretty skeptical of the "security camera" claim. That camera had an operator that was moving it around following the action. Manned security cameras in a country like that, in a location like that? Hmmmm.
And just how can a skinny kid take several pistol shots and never even fall down?
03-25-2011, 13:24
Irving
Probably the same way a buck can take a rifle shot through both lungs and the heart and still run 250 yards.
03-25-2011, 17:56
Byte Stryke
Quote:
Originally Posted by rondog
I'm pretty skeptical of the "security camera" claim. That camera had an operator that was moving it around following the action. Manned security cameras in a country like that, in a location like that? Hmmmm.
And just how can a skinny kid take several pistol shots and never even fall down?
I am going to make an assumption here.
Lets play make believe.
Make believe its a 9mm
Now lets make believe he is a fairly young child with not allot of upper body mass.
Lets make believe its fired at point blank.
sorry for the sarcasm, but in all honesty it was probably not a fatal placement due to lack of stance and aim. Being a 9mm at PB it went through-through.
The child eventually does collapse (assumed shock) at the end of the video.
03-25-2011, 20:19
rondog
Yeah, you're probably right, 9mm FMJ's. I hope the kid's OK regardless, 14 is the same age as my grandson.
03-26-2011, 01:16
theGinsue
Upon reading your thread title, my initial response is that none of us have enough time for me to give a complete answer to that question.
I honestly feel that mankind is past the point of no return on the most slippery of slopes.
Me no longer value human life as we should. This is why most of us feel we need to carry/possess a firearm to protect ourselves and our families - because we know evil is thiving and there are people out there who would happily kill you for the last half of your cup of Starbucks coffee.
03-26-2011, 08:28
ronaldrwl
I'm guessing the police defense will be, "He was going for his gun".
