In São Paulo funk dance: 9 People die after Military Police action
Note from BW of Brazil: I have been saying it for some time. Activists have been saying it for some time. Violent, murderous Military Police actions in Brazil have a place, race, and social class. Anyone denying this simply subscribes to the practice of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”, because you don’t see such tragedies happens in white, upper crust and middle class neighborhoods. And it’s rare to see anyone with white skin, blond hair and blue/green eyes being the victims of such blatant violations of human rights. To tell the truth, I don’t even have the time to be able to cover all of these heinous acts perpetrated against the poor, non-white communities in Brazil’s slums. Needless to say, the loss of nine more lives was simply unnecessary.
When the details of latest atrocity still coming out, a colleague in one of my social networks wrote that she is convinced that there is genocidal “war”, a covert plan to exterminate the black and poor people in Brazil. When I joked with her that “you all are always coming with the conspiracy theories”, she asked me to provide another explanation to make some sense outta this situation. The joke for me, of course, is that, I’ve been calling it a genocidal conspiracy for some time. Check the receipts in the archives of this blog. Is it not obvious?
Also consider the fact that São Paulo’s governor, João Doria, while on the one hand expressing his ‘lament’ for the incident, went on to say that the tragedy is not the fault of the Military Police and that such actions won’t be changing. And once again, as with previous violent actions of the police, the details of what happened as told by the Military Police conflict with what residents and witnesses saw. Take a good look at the faces of the young people whose lives were tragically ended a few days and then take a look at the faces in other similar state sanctioned violent actions and tell me what conclusion you draw from these continuous acts of terrorism.
Nine youngsters die after being trampled to death in Paraisópolis funk dance after police action
According to the Military Police, police officers used “chemical ammunition” to disperse a crowd that allegedly attacked police with cans and bottles
A Military Police (PM) action at the Baile da 17, one of the best funk dances known in São Paulo and held in the southern Paraisópolis favela, ended with nine people killed in the early hours of Sunday morning. According to the PM, Rocam (Ostensitive Motorcycle Support Round) police officers entered the community during a chase with gunmen fleeing on motorcycles. The official version also says the suspects shot at the police.
A resident of the community who was at the funk ball said “this was one of the worst” PM actions in the favela. According to him, “17 [the street where the funk ball takes place] is well concentrated on a crossroads, and they [PMs] came across the four streets, so they had nowhere to run.”
The resident said that there was a “police truck for every corner”. In other dances, the only option used by patrons to escape PM’s rampant actions, according to the resident, “was always the alleys, but this time the cops went down and followed after (them).”
Video shows PM kicking and stomping a Dz7 dance participant in the Paraisópolis favela (zs) in action that ended with 8 dead people allegedly trampled by the crowd. So, @jdoriajr and command of @PMESP, what is the explanation? pic.twitter.com/yg0ouMlsAr
– Kaique Dalapola (@KaiqueDalapola) December 1, 2019
The young man also said that Military Police officers would always disperse the region’s funk ball “with a lot of oppression, but they never went after people to beat them up”.
According to the first records about deaths in the 89th Police District (Portal do Morumbi), when the PMs entered the community they used “chemical munitions” to disperse the funk dance. The patrons are said to have thrown bottles and cans at the PMs, which would have started the confusion.
In a statement, the Paraisópolis Union of Residents and Commerce said the Baile da 17 frequently undergoes police actions, but “at dawn, young people were cornered in alleys and were taken on their way to death, and those who should protect are generating more violence.” The organization of residents and traders still says that the occurrence with deaths “was no accident”.
“We will not accept (this in) silence, we demand justice with the punishment of the guilty. Paraisópolis and the communities need social actions to face their difficulties. More than a cure, we need to prevent. Enough of violence, we want peace,” says the note.
Videos taken by the report show Military Police officers in the middle of one of the favela streets indiscriminately assaulting people trying to leave the Baile da 17. Of the videos to which the report had access, none recorded any attacks against the police.
Military Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Emerson Massera said several videos were being added to the Military Police inquiry to investigate the incident, and the footage pointed to abuse by Military Police. However, he says he still needs to check if the videos match the action of that particular dawn.
One of the victims of was Denys Henrique, who was to turn 17 this December. He lived in the neighborhood of Limão, in northern São Paulo, and enjoyed attending funk dances on weekends. According to his mother, who was at the door of the Campo Limpo Hospital, this was the first time Denis went to the Baile da 17, since he used to go to the dances that were closest to home. “He didn’t know how to defend himself.”
In an interview, the chief of the 89th DP (precinct), Emiliano da C. Neto, said that six Rocam military police officers participated in the motorcycle chase. The suspects allegedly entered the middle of the dance, which is said to have started the confusion. The six PMs have already been heard by the Civil Police.
Also, according to the chief, one of the hospitalized victims may have been the victim of firearm shooting. Emiliano said the police inquiry should “check for intentionality or responsibility [of police] in the nine deaths.”
According to attorney Ariel de Castro Alves, a member of the Condepe (State Human Rights Council), “apparently, it was a disastrous action by the PM that generated turmoil and deaths.”
According to São Paulo police ombudsman Benedito Mariano, “every intervention in funk balls has to come before, [because] intervening where there are 5,000 people on the street, conflict is inherent.” Mariano also said that he contacted the PM Comptroller and requested that the case should not be investigated by the area’s battalion, as usually happens. (In São Paulo funk dance: 9 People die after Military Police action)
By means of an official note, the Municipal Secretariat of Health reported that 20 people were admitted to health units of the municipal network. AMA Paraisópolis tended to 12 people, and two of them were transferred to Campo Limpo Hospital. The UPA (Emergency Medical Unit) and the Campo Limpo Emergency Room received eight other people who were tended to but died. Of the two people transferred from AMA Paraisópolis, only one remains in the Campo Limpo Hospital. The other left the unit with family members.
“I deeply regret the deaths at the funk ball in Paraisópolis tonight. I ordered the Secretary of Public Security, General Campos, to rigorously ascertain the facts to clarify the circumstances and responsibilities of this sad episode.” – João Doria (@jdoriajr) (Governor of São Paulo) December 1, 2019
The State Department of Health, on the other hand, said it had no knowledge of tending to the victims of the action in Paraisópolis in its units.
On Twitter, São Paulo State Governor João Doria (PSDB) said he “deeply regrets” the deaths in Paraisópolis. He also stated that “he has ordered the Secretary of Public Security, General Campos, to rigorously ascertain the facts to clarify the circumstances and responsibilities of this sad episode.”
The young people that died during the action
The youths killed during a Military Police action at a funk dance in the Paraisópolis favela, south of São Paulo, on Sunday morning, were between 14 and 23 years old. Of the total, there were eight males and one female.
The victims were Gustavo Cruz Xavier, 14, Dennys Guilherme dos Santos Franco, 16, Marcos Paulo Oliveira dos Santos, 16, Denys Henrique Quirino da Silva, 16, Luara Victoria Oliveira, 18, Gabriel Rogério de Moraes, 20, Eduardo da Silva, 21 , Bruno Gabriel dos Santos, 22, and Mateus dos Santos Costa, 23. There are also seven hospitalized with injuries.
Most likely, they all died of trampling after being cornered during a police action at the dance in which 5,000 people participated. In an official statement, the PM command said that on the night of the tragedy, the soldiers reacted to the attack of bandits aboard a motorcycle. “The bike fled towards the funk ball, still firing, causing a riot among the event goers,” reads the note.
Marcos Paulo Oliveira dos Santos, 16 years
A Jaraguá resident, in the north of São Paulo, was the first victim to be recognized. The family didn’t know that the young man had gone to the dance, as Marcos said he was going out for pizza with his friends.
Denys Henrique Quirino da Silva, 16 years old
A resident of Pirituba, west zone São Paulo, studied and worked with upholstery and sofa cleaning. The teenager’s family disputes the PM version that Denys died while being trampled. “After seeing my son’s body, I’m sure he was murdered. My son wasn’t trampled on. His face is intact. It was the first time he went to this dance. It was the trip to death,” Maria Cristina Silva, the boy’s mother, told the newspaper Agora São Paulo, after recognizing her son’s body at the IML.
Dennys Guilherme dos Santos Franca, 16 years old
The teenager was a former student at the Escola Estadual José Talarico (school), in the Vila Matilde district, in the east zone, and, according to information from his social networks, studied administration at Unip (Universidade Paulista). Dennys publicou sobre a ida ao baile: “Hoje eu tô inspirado, vou mandar o magrão de esquina a esquina e dar um tapa na cabeça da sua vó, não quero saber de nada, meninas hj o pai vai tá online, vou surfar mais que o Medina.”
Gustavo Xavier, 14 years old.
The youngest of the victims lived with his family in the Capão Redondo neighborhood, also in the south zone. According to UOL, the teenager’s family advised him not to go to the dance for security reasons.
Gabriel Rogério de Moraes, 20 years old
A resident of Mogi das Cruzes in the greater São Paulo region, his body was recognized by his parents at the IML. The wake will be at the Velório Cristo Redentor in the neighborhood of Mogi.
Mateus dos Santos Costa, 23.
The oldest of the victims was born in Bahia, arrived in São Paulo eight years ago and lived in Carapicuíba, in the greater São Paulo region. He lived alone and worked selling cleaning products.
Still among the victims are Bruno Gabriel dos Santos, 22, from Mogi das Cruzes Eduardo Silva, 21 and the only girl, Luara Victoria de Oliveira, 18.
Videos show police aggression in Paraisópolis after operation in funk dance
Among the images, there is a moment when a detained person is seen being kicked several times by a Military Police officer
The PM claims that there was a chase and shooting, but videos circulating on social networks show police officers beating anyone trying to escape the riot.
Journalists even published many of the reports of aggression on Twitter. In one of them, you can see a group of people being cornered by the PM in a narrow passage. The police used the batons to beat those in front of the group.
The moment in which young people attending the Baile da 17 in Paraisópolis are cornered by the PM of SP. Nine young people died as a result of military intervention. Seven were injured. pic.twitter.com/xSuyogIxw2
– André Caramante (@andrecaramante) December 1, 2019
More footage shows a police agent kicking a surrendered person against the wall. The street seems empty, and other PMs pass by a man apparently detained at the location. Another video also catches the moment when a military police officer assaults a person running in the street.
Video shows PM kicking and stomping a Dz7 dance participant in the Paraisópolis favela (zs) in action that ended with 8 dead people allegedly trampled by the crowd. So, @jdoriajr and command of @PMESP, what is the explanation? pic.twitter.com/yg0ouMlsAr
– Kaique Dalapola (@KaiqueDalapola) December 1, 2019
#Brasil | Witnesses and police officers who attended the funk ball in the # Paraisópolis favela have different versions of what caused the riot that ended with the deaths of nine people trampled in the early hours of Sunday. https://t.co/WvyTbE8w2E pic.twitter.com/1aUSllCCo8
– Atlantide (@ Atlantide4world) December 1, 2019
PM Lieutenant Colonel Emerson Massera told a news conference on Sunday afternoon that “it is difficult to analyze if the procedure was correct” at the first moment.
With information courtesy of Carta Capital, Ponte and El País Brasil
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