São Paulo — Seventy civil society organizations and black movement groups have issued a statement to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS), reporting the case in which a Senegalese street vendor was killed after being shot by a military police officer in Brás, a central area of the capital city.
The incident took place during a dispute over merchandise inspection. According to the Military Police, officers were assisting the city in inspecting local commerce when they approached the victim. The corporation reported that the man reacted to the approach by attacking the officers with an iron bar. At that point, the officers intervened and fired.
Ngange Mbaye, 34, was taken to the hospital but did not survive. A military police officer was also injured in the incident. The case is under investigation by the Department of Homicides and Personal Protection (DHPP), and the officer who fired the shot has been removed from operational activities.
In the statement, organizations such as Uneafro Brasil, Movimento Brasil Unificado, and Amparar, among others, describe the episode as “extremely serious” and demand that the IACHR review a complaint made to the agency in December 2024 regarding acts of lethal violence committed by the Military Police of São Paulo.
“This murder, which adds to a systematic history of racist repression, constitutes yet another expression of the pattern of institutionalized violence by São Paulo’s public security forces, under the command of Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, of the Republicanos party, and Secretary Guilherme Derrite,” the document states.
The groups urge for the “prioritization of the admissibility and analysis of the complaint filed in December 2024, noting this new case as an additional and current element of the severity of the reported context.”
The statement also requests that the OAS “consider the adoption of precautionary measures to provide protection to the black and immigrant population in São Paulo, given the omission and complicity of state authorities.”
In a statement regarding the case of the Senegalese street vendor, the Public Security Department informed that the Military Police has opened a Military Police Investigation (MPI) and removed the officer involved in the man’s death from operational duties.
“The incident was recorded at the 8th Police District as a death resulting from a police intervention and attempted homicide,” the department stated.
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