Espírito Santo: Police Strike Leads to Four Times More Deaths

02/17/2017 - 11h11

Throughout the duration of the police strike, the number of people killed in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo hiked 276% in comparison with the same ten-day period in 2016.

143 homicides were registered between January 4 and 13, while there were 38 in the previous year.

Nearly half of those deaths occurred in cities of Greater Vitória: Serra, Vila Velha and Cariacica - poor regions that hold one third of the state's population.

Most of the victims were between 17 and 22 years old and were killed amid a wave of crimes which included looting of stores and muggings while police were not working.

The profile of those killed shows that 67% were mulattos, 18% were black and 15%, white.

At the Forensic Medical Department (IML) of Vitória, freezer containers were fixed quickly and exams that normally take up to two hours lasted only 20 minutes. In the waiting room, there was confrontation between the relatives of criminals of rival gangs.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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