The accused, Luis Paulo Mota Brentano, claims self-defense. Photo: Redes Sociais
A few days ago, the shooting and subsequent death of Ricardo dos Santos hit the surf world. A tragic and senseless end to a life lived in the ocean, dos Santos’s passing has proven to be a call to action to stop the corruption of authority figures in Brazil. The officer in question is now claiming self-defense, a claim which witnesses refute.
The man responsible for the shooting, a 25-year-old military police officer named Luis Paulo Mota Brentano, was off-duty when he fired three shots at dos Santos, perforating his lung and kidney. He was with his 17-year-old brother at the time. Dos Santos was rushed to the hospital, where he died after four emergency surgeries.
While details are conflicting right now, initial reports stated that the surfer saw a group that included the police officer doing drugs on the beach and tried to stop them, resulting in the shooter opening fire from inside the car. Soon after, however, statements were released claiming that Ricardo, along with two other men, threatened the officer and his younger brother with knives in an apparent dispute over where the car was parked.
Ricardo’s uncle, Mauro da Silva, claims that the officer’s car was in the way of some construction work that Ricardo was helping with. According to the uncle, the victim asked the accused and his brother to move the car, then turned and walked away. It was then that Brentano fired one shot into dos Santos’s back, who turned around, then was shot twice more in the stomach. Da Silva told the Brazilian magazine Hardcore that the gunman was clearly under the influence of drugs, and was having difficulty speaking. “We only asked for the guys to leave,” he told the magazine. “Ricardo said two things and left. He (the suspect) could not talk much (translated).”
Ricardo’s death is a tragic reminder of the violence in the Embaú Guard area. Dos Santos was very vocal about the situation–he posted on social media encouraging the locals in the area to put an end to the corruption within the police force:
Today it seems that this piece of ‘heaven’ is losing its charm, it seems that people no longer value the fact that they are in a beautiful and pure place… It is with immense sadness that I write this, but the Guard is being DESTROYED. Together we will fight for a better Guard.
According to the Brazilian reporting service Noticias do Dia, this isn’t the first time the accused has come under fire for his abuse of authority. Two charges were laid by the Prosecutor’s Office in Santa Catarina, both of which ended in acquittal because of lack of evidence. The charges included abuse of authority, threat, home invasion, and bodily injury.
Updates will be made available as the story continues to develop.
