Civil Police officer José Antônio Lourenço, from the Special Resources Coordination (Core), was killed during a police operation in Cidade de Deus, located in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone, on Monday (19/05). The officer was shot while the Civil Police were conducting an operation in the community alongside the State Environmental Institute (INEA), Cedae, and utility companies, aimed at combating the sale of contaminated ice to bars and kiosks along the beaches of Barra and Recreio. The operation targeted a factory inside the community to investigate potential environmental crimes.
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Effects
Cidade de Deus turned into a war zone amid the operation. There was intense gunfire, and the Linha Amarela expressway was shut down by the Military Police. Drivers abandoned their vehicles and lay down on the road to protect themselves from the crossfire. On Rua Edgard Werneck, in Cidade de Deus, barricades were set on fire. Nineteen bus lines had to alter their routes, while schools and health clinics suspended their operations for safety reasons.
Operation in Gardênia Azul
Core was supporting an operation targeting illegal ice factories in the area. Authorities stated that the aim was to investigate environmental and consumer safety crimes, following reports that ice sold in the region was contaminated with fecal coliforms. After Officer Lourenço’s death, more than 50 police vehicles were mobilized to reinforce the operation. The crackdown expanded into neighboring Gardênia Azul, where suspects allegedly responsible for the officer’s death had fled. According to the Civil Police, officers came under attack by drug traffickers from the Red Command (CV) faction, which controls the region.
Fecal Coliforms in the Ice
The primary targets of the operation were a factory in Cidade de Deus and a distributor in Barra da Tijuca. Investigations revealed that the companies supply a significant portion of the ice consumed by kiosks and bars along the beachfront. The inquiry began in February after a joint inspection collected samples from several waterfront kiosks. Laboratory reports from Cedae confirmed the presence of fecal coliforms. Police officers and technical staff returned to inspect the storage conditions and the quality of the water used in the manufacturing process, as part of the investigation into environmental and consumer protection violations.
Third Core Officer Shot
José Antônio Lourenço was the third officer from Core to be shot in two months. On 20 March of this year, co-pilot Felipe Marques Monteiro was shot in the head during an operation in Vila Aliança, also in the West Zone, while aboard a police helicopter. On 30 March, João Pedro Marquini—husband of Judge Tula Correa de Mello—was shot and killed while driving through Serra da Grota Funda, another area in the West Zone.
Analysis:
The death of Inspector José Antônio Lourenço during a CORE operation in Cidade de Deus once again reveals the complexity of public security operations in Rio de Janeiro, particularly in areas controlled by heavily armed criminal factions. The operation’s objective — to combat environmental and consumer crimes related to the production of contaminated ice — illustrates the increasing overlap between traditional organized crime and illicit activities that directly threaten public health and the local economy.
The deployment of more than 50 police vehicles and the siege that followed the officer’s death point to a robust tactical response but also reflect the reactive nature of current security strategies. This is the third CORE officer shot in just two months, revealing a troubling pattern of armed resistance and growing risk to security forces.
Finally, the use of communities as bases for illegal business operations, even in seemingly marginal sectors like ice production, reveals how deeply crime is embedded in essential economic chains.
Sources: G1 [1], [2], [3]; A Folha de SP; Extra [1], [2], [3].
