Police violence: internal affairs department calls for arrest of PM who threw man off bridge in SP

The internal affairs department of the São Paulo Military Police (PM-SP) requested the preventive arrest of Luan Felipe Alves Pereira, the PM who threw a man from above gave a bridge during an approach.

The case occurred in the Vila Clara neighborhood, in the south zone of the capital of São Paulo, in the early hours of last Monday (2), and was caught on video, shown by TV Globo.

The decision on the request for preventive detention will be made by the Military Justice Court of São Paulo.

During the action, four military police officers pursued a motorcyclist. The arrest request is for the police officer who threw the man from the bridge.

“The 13 police officers involved in the action were immediately removed from their duties and are responding to a military police investigation (IPM) conducted by the PM Internal Affairs Department. The agent responsible for the aggression was interviewed and his arrest was requested from the Military Court”, confirmed the Public Security Secretariat of the state of São Paulo (SSP-SP), in a statement.

“The case is also investigated by the Civil Police, through the Specialized Center for the Repression of Crimes and Miscellaneous Occurrences (CERCO) of the 2nd Section. Efforts are underway to hear from the victim and clarify the facts,” says the ministry’s statement.

Initially, the PM-SP had classified the military police officer’s act as an “emotional error”.

According to information from the newspaper Folha de S.Paulothe agents involved in the pursuit of the motorcyclist are part of the Ostensive Patrol with Motorcycle Support (Rocam) of the 24th Military Police Battalion, in Diadema (SP), in Greater São Paulo.

According to the PM-SP, the man who was thrown from the bridge is alive, but has not yet been identified. A person who was with him at the time of the approach was arrested.

Tarcísio guarantees Derrite

The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans)assured that the state Secretary of Public Security, Guilherme Derritewill remain in office, even after a series of complaints involving cases of abuse and violence by military police officers.

Tarcísio had to speak about the subject when questioned by journalists upon arrival at the Chamber of Deputies, on Wednesday (4), in Brasília (DF). The São Paulo governor received a decoration from parliamentarians.

Asked about recent cases of police violence in São Paulo, Tarcísio refused to talk about specific episodes. When asked if Derrite was at risk in the position, the governor assured that he did not intend to fire him.

“Look at the numbers. You will see that (he) is doing a good job”, said Tarcísio.

When asked what these numbers were, Tarcísio limited himself to saying that they were “criminal statistics”, but did not give further explanation.

“The person came away with minor injuries. What happened was very bad, we will take action”, said Tarcísio.

Another controversial case occurred in November, when a military police officer executed a young man in front of a market in Jardim Prudência, south of São Paulo. The victim was accused of stealing soap packages from the establishment.

According to data from the Public Ministry, deaths in São Paulo Military Police approaches increased by 46% until November 17th of this year, compared to 2023.

Between January and November, 673 people were killed by PMs, compared to 460 in the same period the previous year. Of these deaths, 577 were carried out by on-duty police officers, while 96 were by off-duty police officers.