“They Promised to Kill Thirty”: Failures in the Investigation of Police Killings in Operation “Shield” in Baixada Santista, São Paulo State, Brazil

By Anna Livia Arida

 On July 28, 2023, São Paulo military police launched one of the deadliest police operations in the state in 30 years in response to the killing of an officer. Police killed 28 people may also have committed acts of torture and other serious violations. Investigations into the killings were deeply flawed: for instance, police failed to request forensic analysis of many shooting sites and gunshot residue tests on some of the victims who allegedly shot at the police. Brazil has long had a serious problem with police abuse and excessive use of force. Police killed more than 6,400 people in 2022, 83 percent of them Black. São Paulo authorities should act urgently to prevent revenge operations by police. Throughout Brazil, independent prosecutors, rather than police themselves, should lead investigations into killings by police.  

New York:Human Rights Watch, 2023. 24p.