“He pulled out his cell, you shot him!” – Man shot after Military Police confuse his cell phone with a gun in Baixada region of Rio

Note from BW of Brazil: Well, this is a shame, but given the violent tactics of Military Police (MP) in Rio, and Brazil in general, the young man in this story should be grateful to be alive! A few posts ago, we highlighted another man who realized that he should have been dead after having been shot in the face by MP! A couple of details to emphasize here. 1) Another case of mistaken identity leading to a shooting and 2) black men in Brazil are often shot and killed by police when they aren’t guilty of anything, thus one should never reach for anything if in the presence of police. 

Man shot after Military Police confuse his cell phone with a gun in Baixada region of Rio

In the video, the victim appears on the ground with a bleeding leg and being supported by police and witnesses

By NICOLÁS SATRIANO

Shot victim is on the ground being supported by police and bystanders

A man was shot in the leg, on Sunday morning, in Duque de Caxias, in the Baixada Fluminense region of Rio, after Military Police (MP) soldier confused his cell phone with a gun. In a video posted on Facebook, the victim is shown lying on the ground with his leg bleeding and being supported by MPs and bystanders.

The Military Police confirmed that police from the Regime Adicional de Serviço (RAS or Additional Service Regime), a service of the 15th BPM (Caxias), went to the Rua Manoel Tele to check a denouncement of theft at the site. According to the report, the policemen saw two men with the characteristics described in the complaint and that would supposedly be assailants.

One of the officers said he drew his gun and shot the leg of one of the men after realizing that he put his hand on his hip. The victim was taken to Hospital Estadual Adão Pereira Nunes (Saracuruna) and the occurrence was forwarded to the 61st DP (precinct of Xerém). Also according to the battalion, an investigation was opened to discover the circumstances.

In the video, people commented that “the phone is big,” and say that the police must have thought it was a gun because of the device’s size. One of the officers asks for back up and another witness is heard stating, “he pulled out his cell, you shot him.” On the ground, the shot man asks to call his mother. “She has to know,” said the victim reinforcing his request. Crying, the wounded man says it hurts a lot.

According to information of the 61st DP (Xerém), the Military Police and a witness were heard, and the weapons of the policemen were seized for examination of ballistic confrontation. The police station awaits a medical clearance of the victim so he can testify. The Civil Police also reported that agents are searching the security camera image to help in investigations. The case was referred to the 59th DP (of the Duque de Caxias region).

Source: O Dia