[Excerpt: The number of death squads in Rio has decreased in recent years, Mr. Lins said, but some are still operating, mainly in the suburbs, and they nearly always include policemen. The Justice Ministry promised earlier this month to send hundreds of federal police agents to battle death squads.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/16/international/americas/16brazil.html Rio Police Partied Before Killings, Inquiry Shows By REUTERS Published: April 16, 2005 RIO DE JANEIRO, April 15 (Reuters) - Policemen charged with killing 29 people in Rio de Janeiro two weeks ago were seen drinking beer and singing karaoke tunes before their rampage, Rio's chief investigator told Reuters on Friday. The investigator, Álvaro Lins, also said the inquiry was focusing on two possible motives for the random killings by a death squad believed to be made up of police officers. He said one theory was that the crimes were meant as a show of force to a rival group. The gunmen shot to death men, women and children in the working-class districts of Nova Iguaçu and Queimados on Rio's north side in the worst massacre in more than a decade in the violent city. Advertisement The other possible motive was that the killings were a response to a crackdown on corrupt police officers, with the aim of causing a change in police command in the area. Mr. Lins said three witnesses saw five policemen drinking beer and singing in a bar for three hours before the killings. Afterward, they jumped into a car later seen at the crime scenes, the witnesses said. Empty cartridges from bullets used in the killings were found in the car. The investigation has led to the arrests of 10 officers from the state police force in charge of street patrols and the indictments of 8 of them. The number of death squads in Rio has decreased in recent years, Mr. Lins said, but some are still operating, mainly in the suburbs, and they nearly always include policemen. The Justice Ministry promised earlier this month to send hundreds of federal police agents to battle death squads. "They mostly start as vigilantes, killing bandits in violent areas, but then they all start losing control and kill everyone who stands in their way," Mr. Lins said. Rio is plagued by violent crime, with rival drug gangs controlling many slum areas and defying authorities. Death squads charge a protection fee from local businesses and sometimes households. Mr. Lins said an argument over such fees with a rival group could have caused the massacre. "We suspect they were trying to show to the other group who calls the shots in the districts," he said. He said the inquiry was difficult as some policemen tried to cover up for their colleagues. The police suspect the indicted policemen of executing at least 15 people over the past few years. Human rights groups say most such killings in Rio are executions of suspects. enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
