‘License to Kill’: Inside Rio’s Record Year of Police Killings

"Officially, the police in Brazil are allowed to use lethal force only to confront an imminent threat. But an analysis of four dozen police killings in the violent Rio district where Rodrigo was killed shows that officers routinely gun down people without restraint, protected by their bosses and the knowledge that even if they are investigated for illegal killings, it will not keep them from going back out onto the beat.

In at least half of the 48 police killings analyzed by The New York Times, the deceased were shot in the back at least once, according to autopsy reports, immediately raising questions about the imminent threat required to justify such killings.

In 20 of the cases, the individual was shot by the police at least three times.

And of all the police killings reviewed by The Times, only two officers reported having sustained any wounds. One was a self-inflicted accident: It happened when an officer shot himself as his rifle misfired. The second officer tripped and fell."

read newstory by Manuela Andreoni​ and Ernesto Londoño

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‘License to Kill’: Inside Rio’s Record Year of Police Killings - The New York Times