Rio police pull 4 officers from street duty in a probe into a deadly raid

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Four Brazilian police officers have been removed from street duty in an investigation into their involvement in a deadly raid in a low-income part of Rio de Janeiro that killed seven suspected drug traffickers and also left one resident dead, authorities said Friday.

The decision follows preliminary analysis of Wednesday’s operation in the Prazeres favela, in central Rio near the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa, which found the “improper use” of body cameras, Rio state’s military police said in an email to The Associated Press. They did not elaborate on what was meant by improper use, or whether they may have been switched off during the raid.

The officers involved were transferred from operational duty to administrative activities to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation by the military police internal affairs division, police said.

The raid killed Claúdio Augusto dos Santos, a suspected drug trafficking leader in the notorious crime group Red Command. It also killed six other suspected drug traffickers and one resident.

Suspected associates of the gang retaliated by setting fire to a bus and blocking roads, leading to five arrests for acts of vandalism.

Some 150 military police officers were involved in Wednesday’s operation, which targeted the sprawling urban communities of Prazeres, Fallet, Fogueteiro, Coroa, Escondidinho and Paula Ramos.

Last year, a huge raid against Red Command resulted in more than 120 deaths in Penha and Complexo de Alemao favelas, the most lethal in Rio’s history. The death toll sparked protests and calls for Gov. Cláudio Castro’s resignation.

Red Command has more than doubled its presence since 2023 and criminal gangs are now active in nearly half of the Brazilian Amazon’s municipalities.

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