Video appearing to show Brazil police gassing man to death in boot of car sparks protests
A black man died of asphyxiation after reportedly being held inside a patrol vehicle's smoke-filled boot by two officers of Brazil's Federal Highway Police.
A preliminary autopsy concluded that Genivaldo de Jesus Santos died of respiratory failure due to “mechanical asphyxia", the Associated Press reports.
Images from the police stop on Tuesday in Umbauba, in the northeastern state of Sergipe, show the officers keeping the 38-year-old in the back of their police vehicle as a dense cloud of white smoke - which appears to be tear gas - emerges from the SUV.
The man can be heard screaming and his legs, which stick out of the SUV, kick for a time, until they eventually stop moving.
His nephew Wallison de Jesus told The Washington Post that he was on the scene, and said that his uncle was unarmed and suffering from schizophrenia.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know
A video of the incident has circulated widely on social media, and has sparked outrage amongst Brazilians.
Dozens of people gathered to protest on Wednesday in Umbauba, where they blocked a road and burned tires.
“The population is outraged," a man can be heard saying in a video of the protest posted on Twitter.
Citing figures from the Brazilian Forum of Public Security, The Guardian reports that of the 6,416 people killed by police in Brazil in 2020, almost 80% of the victims were black.
In a statement, the Federal Highway Police said the man had displayed aggressive behaviour and was “actively resisting” the officers who pulled him over. The agents immobilised him, the statement said, then used “instruments of lesser offensive potential” to contain him.
The statements says Santos fell ill as he was being transported to a police precinct and was taken to a hospital, where his death was confirmed.
The incident “shocked Brazilian society due to the level of its brutality, exposing the institution's lack of preparedness to guarantee that its agents obey basic procedures," the Brazilian Public Security Forum, an independent group, said in a statement.
President Jair Bolsonaro said he would find out from the Federal Highway Police what happened.
He also mentioned a separate incident two weeks ago when a man shot two on-duty highway officers.
The Federal Police opened an investigation. The forensic institute must submit its final, more in-depth report to the Federal Police within 10 days.
The incident comes just days after officers of the highway police participated in an operation in Rio de Janeiro that left more than 20 people dead.
Police have said they had no choice but to use lethal force, but accounts from residents published in local media have raised doubts on that claim, according to AP.