The Vila Cruzeiro shootout (Portuguese: chacina da Vila Cruzeiro)^[6] took place on 24 May 2022 in the favela of the same name in Rio de Janeiro, during a joint operation by the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE), the Federal Police and the Federal Highway Police^[7] that resulted in at least 26 people killed by gunshots or cutting objects. It was the second most lethal police operation in the city of Rio de Janeiro, second only to the Chacina do Jacarezinho, which occurred a year earlier.^[8]

According to BOPE, the operation aimed to arrest more than 50 traffickers from the Comando Vermelho from various states who were heading to Rocinha favela. The undercover police team was discovered around 4pm and the MP carried out an emergency operation involving 80 officers and 26 members of the Federal Highway Police. The shootout dragged on for hours until it reached the woods of Serra da Misericórdia, which connects Vila Cruzeiro to Complexo do Alemão, where most of the victims were shot. They seized 13 rifles, 12 grenades, 4 pistols, 10 cars and 20 motorbikes. The victims were transferred to Hospital Estadual Getúlio Vargas. The Military Police state that the faction is very active, responsible for 80% of the confrontations in Rio.^[9] Besides Rio de Janeiro, the victims also came from other states, such as Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Amazonas and Pará.^[10]

The operation took place during the term of Governor Cláudio Castro. In just one year, 39 massacres occurred in the state, leaving 182 dead. Only in the region where the operation took place, four massacres occurred in one year, leaving 42 dead.^[11]

Dead and injured

The death toll reached 26.^[12] However, later the Medico-Legal Institute reported that three of the dead actually came from another confrontation, on Juramento Hill. The number of dead is therefore 23.^[5] Of those, 11 were not answering criminal charges.^[13]

Civil police officer Sérgio Silva do Rosário was the only injured officer, as he was hit by shrapnel while carrying out an inspection.^[14] Five other people were injured and taken to hospitals in the city.^[15] Among them are Edson Ferreira da Costa and Ryan de Almeida, who were admitted respectively to the Emergency Care Unit of the Complexo de Gericinó and the Hospital Municipal Salgado Filho.^[16] Still, a social activist recorded part of the action, and BOPE fired once in his direction. He identified himself to Uol, which opted to hide his identity to protect him from reprisals.^[17]

A woman was killed by a stray bullet in the community of Chatuba, neighbouring Vila Cruzeiro. Gabrielle Ferreira da Cunha was 41 years old and was shot in her home.^[18]

Apart from her, at least 25 people are dead, all being considered by the police as suspects.^[15] Residents report that one of the victims was stabbed to death by the police. The Human Rights Commission of the OAB-RJ backs up this version, saying that one of the bodies did indeed present perforations. The body was found with its face covered with white powder. Residents report that the police forced him to eat cocaine before murdering him.^[19] Another victim, Natan Werneck, even called for help by telephone and was rescued only 6 hours after the event, but died in hospital.^[20]

Reactions

Investigation

On the same day of the massacre, the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro opened proceedings to investigate the police action, giving ten days for all involved to be heard and for BOPE to indicate those responsible for the deaths.^[29] The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has also opened an investigation to look into the actions of individual police officers.^[30]

The PSB and human rights organizations filed a request with the Supreme Court for the Rio de Janeiro government to draw up another plan to reduce police lethality in operations. The request was forwarded to Minister Edson Fachin. In February, the STF had already forced Governor Cláudio Castro to explain what he would do about the situation of violence in Rio, but received a response with generic intentions.^[31]

References