Eleven of the policemen who shot the feminist march in Cancun, Quintana Roo will be prosecuted for injury, abuse of authority and theft, the state prosecutor’s office reported.
The unit detailed that the commandos in charge of the operative will be charged for allowing the scene to be altered and evidence destroyed, concealed and disappeared.
On the night of November 9 feminist groups convened a demonstration at the Municipal Palace of Benito Juarez, in the center of the state, to claim for the growing wave of femicides committed throughout the country, especially that of Bianca Alejandrina Lorenzana Alvarado, “Alexis”.
To better understand: Two men are arrested for Alexis’ femicide in Quintana Roo; they had the victim’s cell phone
That night, both feminist women and journalists were dispersed with shots into the air and the ground, resulting in 8 people with injuries to different parts of the body, one of whom reported robbery, and two journalists injured by firearms.
Against this, FGE Quintana Roo initiated an investigation to find and, where appropriate, punish the elements involved.
Through interviews, expert opinions, video recording analysis, and firearms review, the authorities determined that at least 78 municipal police officers participated in the events, and criminal proceedings were brought against 11 of them.
Among the 11 elements prosecuted, nine are commandos (one secretary, one Undersecretary, one director, 3 coordinators and 3 supervisors) and two police elements, the Prosecutor’s Office detailed.
In the coming days an initial hearing will be held before a Control Judge to make the corresponding complaint and impose the precautionary measures on the 11 elements processed.
Read also: 23-year-old woman murdered at an address in Benito Juarez, Quintana Roo; there’s a detainee
On the day of the events, Animal Politics contacted journalists from Quintana Roo, who claimed that at least four companions were injured.
At the time, the Prosecutor’s Office reported that there were no arrests, while the Q Roo Network of Journalists and Human Rights assured that eight people had been detained and then released.
For his part, the governor of Quinta Roo, Carlos Joaquín, failed the acts of violence and said they would investigate and punish those responsible for leading the operation, since his government’s instruction was not to assault or use weapons in the marches.
His secretary of public safety, did not follow the governor’s instructions and this was his strategy to care for protesters and fellow press members were wounded pic.twitter.com/2iJNa4s1Fa
— Diana Garcia (@DigarciaQ) November 10, 2020
Failure to do duty
On the night of the assaults, the 78 elements involved were divided into four groups and their original objective was the protection and containment of facilities; however, the Opinion of the Public Prosecutor’s Office states that they “failed to comply with their duty of care by failing to safeguard the integrity and rights of individuals.”
In videos broadcast through social networks, you can see how the policemen made their way through the protesters shooting into the air, in the Plaza de la Reforma.
Also: “Nothing to be protecting anyone”: AMLO asks Quintana Roo governor to clear up gunfire in protest
In its press release, the State Prosecutor’s Office notes that the elements “put attendees at risk by allowing personnel under its command to come with firearms to the site of the facts, not avoiding the illicit use of force when firearms were used unnecessarily and unjustifiably.”
There was also a omission in ordering the arrest of the policemen who triggered the firearms against the protesters.
“The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Quintana Roo fulfills its constitutional obligation to locate, prosecute and capture those who break the law and violate the life and physical integrity of the Quintanarroenses,” the communiqué concludes.
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