Less than 40% of Special Police Operations Battalion (Bope) agents used body cameras during the containment operation, carried out on October 28 in the Penha and Alemão complexes, in the northern region of Rio. Approximately 215 members of the unit, carried out jointly by military and civilian police, participated in the operation, but only 77 of them were equipped.
- Rio MP identifies two dead With shooting at close range in a huge operation in Rio
- Less than half are basic police officers Cameras used in massive operation in Rio
The information was conveyed by Bubi’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Marcelo Corpaj, in a statement to the Public Ministry of Rio (MP-RJ), last Monday. The text was sent to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) along with other documents about the MP’s role in the massive operation.
According to Corpage, there were 77 cameras available to about 215 officers on the force. The commander stated that the need for spare batteries was not expected, because he thought that the operation would have a normal duration – a maximum of five or six hours. He also stated that the cameras are “more than enough for a typical workday,” but in the massive operation, the devices were distributed so that all groups of agents had at least one equipped police officer.
Furthermore, Corpaj stated that BOPE currently has 18 spare batteries and reiterated that the containment operation deviated from normal police routine. First, he said, because of its size; Secondly, through the severity of the criminals’ reaction. He also added that the event was originally scheduled to take place days ago, but was postponed for various reasons such as bad weather, holidays, etc.
- Rio tops the number of inmates in federal prisons, After the transfer of the red command heads
A week before Corpage, the Undersecretary of the Operations Department of the Military Police, Ranulfo Souza Brandão Filho, also came to the headquarters of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to make a statement about the massive operation. He stated that tests already conducted show that body camera batteries do not have an effective autonomy for 12 hours, which is the expected duration of the massive operation.
Ranulfo also informed that the action arose as a result of an investigation conducted by the Civil Police, which lasted about a year and investigated the actions of the Comando Vermelho (CV) in the two slum complexes. The Undersecretary said that about two months ago, the Civil Police requested support from the Military Police to implement seizure, inspection and seizure orders.
Thus, 1,800 agents were used, according to 570 Special Operations Command (Coe) forces, in addition to 18 conventional units and four other specialized units. Traditional unit agents wore body cameras during the operation. However, as far as the joint forces were concerned, due to the limited amount of equipment available, not all police officers had cameras.
The Undersecretary also confirmed that members of the intelligence service are exempt from the mandatory use of equipment.
About The Author
