Operation Summer in Baixada Santista, on the coast of São Paulo, reached 54 deaths in clashes with police between 1 January and 20 February 2024, more than the recorded in Operation Shield, carried out in the same region in 2023.
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Operation Shield lasted 40 days last year, having been triggered after the death of a military police officer from the Rondas Ostensivas Tobias Aguiar (Rota) team Patrick Bastos Reis. The 2nd phase of Operation Summer, in turn, was established after the death of Samuel Wesley Costa, another Rota military police (PM), with police reinforcement.
Operation Shield
Operation Shield was launched in the region after the death of Rota PM Patrick Bastos Reis, in July 2023. On that occasion, the agent was shot while patrolling in Guarujá (SP).
In the 40 days of operation, as announced by the Secretary of Public Security, Guilherme Derrite, 958 people were arrested and 28 people were killed by police.
Operation Summer
Operation Summer is traditionally carried out between December and February to increase policing during the busiest period on the coast. However, the 2nd and 3rd phases, which, respectively, included police reinforcement and the installation of the Public Security office in Santos, took place from 2 February after the death of soldier Samuel Wesley Cosmo, from Rondas Ostensivas Tobias de Aguiar (Rota), in Santos.
The current phase of the operation even included the presence of a São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) office in the region. The department was based in Baixada Santista for 13 days.
Still according to the SSP-SP, to date, more than 681 people have been arrested. The ministry also stated that, in addition, almost half a ton of drugs and 79 weapons were seized.
Death Rate
Operation Shield 2023 recorded approximately 0.7 deaths per day. Operation Summer has so far recorded around 1.6 deaths per day.
Police Destroy Camera
Military police officers (PM) were caught destroying a monitoring camera on a street in Prainha, a community in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo. There is no information about the reason that led the PMs to destroy the equipment, nor when the incident occurred.
The recording shows four police officers on a street near an alley. At least one of them holds a long gun. Next to the police officers, a man is leaning against a parked vehicle. The police officers notice the presence of the monitoring camera and begin to observe it. One of them then takes a piece of wood, goes towards the camera, and hits the equipment several times.
Changes in the Security Secretariat
The Secretary of Public Security of São Paulo, Guilherme Derrite moved, at once, 34 colonels of the São Paulo Military Police, including members of the high command.
The replacements reached three strategic positions: the subcommand, the Intelligence Center, and the command of CPHoq, the unit to which Rota is subordinate. Therefore, the changes were not well received by the colonels. The measure further weakens the commander-general of the PM, Cássio Araújo Freixo. Colonel Freixo was a defender of body cameras and recently opposed the launch of another phase of Operation Shield. The operation was renamed Operation Summer.
Analysis:
Operation Summer, currently underway, has been the target of criticism from experts and institutions defending human rights, who see it as a mere continuation of the controversial Operation Shield. The core of the criticism lies in the understanding that the current operation, formally based on locating and arresting those responsible for the deaths of public security agents, follows the same model as its predecessor.
A point of concern raised is the mobilization of a considerable number of Military Police across the State, a police force notoriously responsible for overt policing, not investigations. This strategy aimed at the coast, without a clear investigative approach, raises questions about the effectiveness and legitimacy of the approach.
The Public Security Secretariat of the State of São Paulo, in this context, established an office in the territory to coordinate Operation Summer. However, the criticism of the São Paulo Public Defender’s Office falls on the lack of mention of the use of technology, especially in cases involving Rota police officers, a battalion already equipped with portable operational cameras. The lack of reference to the use of this technology in police death reports is highlighted as a gap that compromises transparency and accountability.
