Police protest spreads to Rio
Morale among street police is low as a result of nearly bankrupt Rio state's inability to pay full wages.
Wives and widows of military policemen block the entrance to the military police station in Rio de Janeiro on February 10, as they demand back pay for their relatives
Recommended articles
Morale among street police is low as a result of nearly bankrupt Rio state's inability to pay full wages, as well as brutal crime fighting that has seen more than 3,000 officers killed in Rio since 1994 -- a casualty rate exceeding that of US troops in World War II, according to a recent study.
Police, who are classified as military, are barred by the constitution from going on strike or demonstrating.
To get around that law, female relatives of officers blocked the entrances to several Rio police bases, including the elite Shock Battalion -- and personnel made no effort to come out.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We're demonstrating to demand police get their rights back, especially security, payment of salaries on time, and better equipment, not weapons that are out of order and cars that are not maintained," said a woman outside the 6th Battalion station.
The woman, who like other protesters did not want to be identified, said her husband had been killed on duty last year.
"We've had enough!" said another police widow helping blockade the station. "They don't get salaries, they don't have money, they don't even have what they need to work."
There and at the imposing Shock Battalion headquarters, women prevented cars and anyone in uniform from exiting.
"If you come in, we won't let you leave," one woman warned two thick-set policemen returning to base with rifles and other combat gear carried by Shock Battalion troopers. They meekly agreed, while two others who attempted to leave with uniforms in their bags offered no resistance when told to go back in.
ADVERTISEMENT
Police authorities said in a statement that protests were taking place outside 27 of Rio's 100 police stations, with five reported by Globo television as blockaded. Spokesman Major Ivan Blaz told journalists that "95 percent" of officers were working as normal and that the city was secure.
Bloodshed and revolt
The limited shutdown was modeled on a larger shutdown in the neighboring state of Espirito Santo where relatives of police blockaded all stations one week ago, plunging the state into chaos.
Despite the dispatch of federal army troops, more than 120 people have been reported killed amid looting and robbery.
Tension remained high Friday after authorities said they had run out of patience and were filing rebellion charges against more than 700 police officers who had refused to leave their bases. Schools and bus services remained closed.
ADVERTISEMENT
Espirito Santo police want a pay raise. In Rio the main demands are payment of 2016's final salary and overtime, including for working extra during the Olympic Games in August.
Rio is in dire financial straits and the corruption-plagued state is having to implement austerity measures to qualify for a federal bailout. On Thursday, Shock Battalion riot police, using tear gas and stun grenades, fought for hours against opponents to the privatization of the state water utility.
Given that the city is already gripped by a violent struggle between drug gangs and police, rumors that officers would refuse to work, as in Espirito Santo, sent ripples of fear.
Messages widely shared on social media warned parents to keep their children out of school and to stay indoors. Newspaper front pages Friday were filled with headlines like "Rio's Hell" and "Rio ungoverned."
Rio state security chief Roberto Sa told local station RJTV that while protesters had a point, "16 million people cannot be held hostage, at risk of being victims of (criminal) violence because of a demonstration."
ADVERTISEMENT
Others took a lighter view of the possible absence of police, who for all their ferociousness against demonstrators and drug gangs have been unable to stop a surge in muggings and other regular crime around Rio.
"Attention: Rio military police declare that policing continues normally and that muggings are occurring without problems," went one joke making the rounds of social media.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke
Next story