Thread by @UR_Ninja

At least 6,416 people were #KilledByPolice in #Brazil last year, setting a record high. This year after several massacres, police are on pace to break the record again. unicornriot.ninja/2021/police-in…

The 6,416 people killed last year by police in #Brazil are a 190% increase from 2013. Black Brazilians were killed at the highest rate, accounting for 79% of the deaths by police in 2020 while only representing 56% of the population in the country of 211 million people.

The vast majority of the families of those #KilledByPolice in #Brazil never receive justice and the lack of accountability has led to the Human Rights Watch seeking a dedicated prosecutorial body to handle cases of police abuse: hrw.org/news/2021/04/1…

Large criminal organizations controlling swaths of heavily populated Brazilian cities are deeply connected to security forces controlled by the military and state and draw their roots from the two decades of military dictatorship that ended in 1985.

#Brazil: Evidence shows police involvement in criminal factions, militias & death squads like those linked to President Bolsonaro’s family that assassinated politician #MarielleFranco in 2018-these connections have helped fuel the rise in police killings & prevent accountability.

#Brazil: In the state of Rio de Janeiro, well known worldwide for its city with the same name, beautiful beaches and its nightlife, police killed 1,245 people in 2020. Based on the population of the state, one in every 12,851 residents are #KilledByPolice.

In the US, police killed 1,126 people in 2020, which is one in every 291,296 residents. According to Mapping Police Violence, of the 1,126 killed by US police last year, 28% were Black, despite the Black population being only 13% of the country. [Thread]

#Brazil: The state of Rio de Janeiro features seven of the top ten cities with the highest rates of police violence: Japeri, Itaguaí, Angra dos Reis, São Gonçalo, Queimados, Mesquita and Belford Roxo.

In Rio, the police are 2,167 times more likely to kill you in than in the US.

Police have continued killing in 2021 despite the Federal Supreme Court prohibiting police raids in the favelas during the pandemic.

In late March 2021, Rio resident Thainã de Meideiros told UR that police keep “coming up with excuses” to continue raids.

https://twitter.com/UR_Ninja/status/1381016784518586368

Meideiros is part of @CPapo_Reto, an organization focused on human rights, culture, harm reduction, health, and education in Complexo do Alemão, a large group of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, #Brazil. [Thread]

#Brazil: @CPapo_Reto was among Black movement groups & those ran by mothers & relatives of lost loved ones from the favelas as the initial groups to conjure up the motions that the Supreme Court ruled upon to prohibit police raids, the #ADPF635, or ‘ADPF of the Favelas’.

An ADPF is a Claim of Non-Compliance with a Fundamental Precept, a lawsuit claiming a violation of the Brazilian constitution by a govt agency. Citing excessive police violence & new policies allowing further abuses, the lawsuit was filed by the Brazilian Socialist Party in 2019.

#Brazil: The Supreme Court enacted #ADPF635, or 'ADPF of the Favelas' in August 2020, ordering the halting of violent police operations. In April 2021, a judge ruled in favor of requests in the motions & in June 2021, an emergency restraining order on the police was issued.

Enforcing #ADPF635, ‘ADPF of the Favelas’ has proven difficult despite the Supreme Court ruling. Civil & military police made what many deem as reprisal killings against movements in several districts the day of the Supreme Court hearings to show they don’t answer to the courts.

#Brazil: Even after #ADPF635, prosecutors have been overruling Access to Information laws and making police records inaccessible to the public, preventing investigation into police abuses. For a deeper look into the 'ADPF of the Favelas', see @RioOnWatch.

https://twitter.com/RioOnWatch/status/1433801572039991298

#Brazil: In Complexo do Alemão, Rio de Janeiro, which has seen its share of terror-filled military and police occupations, three months before the Supreme Court ordered the suspension of police operations, 13 people were killed by police in one raid in Complexo do Alemão.

#Brazil: Just 15 minutes away from Complexo do Alemão is Jacarezinho, Rio de Janeiro.

On May 6, 2021, authorities committed the deadliest massacre in Brazilian history, killing 28 people during a failed police operation targeting drug traffickers in the favela. [Thread]

#Brazil: One officer died during the Jacarezinho operation-turned-massacre on May 6 this year. The raid lasted 7 hours w/ many of the 28 deaths occurring execution style after the victim surrendered. The police denied wrongdoing, saying there were no irregularities or excesses.

The May 6, 2021, operation in Jacarezinho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had the initial objective of arresting 21 people under investigation, and led to the death of 28, not all of whom had arrest warrants. Three were arrested in total.

https://twitter.com/BrazilInst/status/1433467255665225728

Beyond Rio de Janeiro, #Brazil, there were over 5,000 more people #KilledByPolice throughout the country last year, including 814 killed in São Paulo. In lower-income territories, police abusing their authority is common & mistrust occurs between them & the community they serve.

#Brazil: In efforts to stop police from killing people, 18 police battalions in the state of São Paulo now have body cameras. This has resulted in a 53% reduction in the amount of police killings in the state & in June 2021 no one was killed by officers outfitted with cameras.

Beyond a Supreme Court ruling, body cameras, and a push for more accountability measures, police killings in #Brazil are continually on the rise. Last year's record numbers are set to be topped in 2021.

Thread above & Full report in article: unicornriot.ninja/2021/police-in…