The Court of Justice rejected an appeal by the Tarcísio de Freitas (SP) government and upheld a ruling ordering the payment of R$ 10,000 in damages to an elderly man who was the target of a violent act by a military police officer last October.
The 63-year-old man was returning home in the early hours of the morning in the Heliópolis community, in the southern zone of São Paulo, when he walked near a military police officer. He was coming back from a bar. The officer, without any prior warning, sprayed pepper spray directly into his face.
Contacted by Folha, the State Attorney General's Office said it had not yet been formally notified of the ruling. "After proper notification and full access to the content of the decision, the State will make its position known in the case proceedings at the appropriate time."
Attorneys Ricardo Augusto Yamasaki and Gabriel Hiroshi de Souza, who represent the man, state that he had not taken any hostile action and that he suffered a cowardly assault.
In the lawsuit, they state that the elderly man was left disoriented, with burning eyes and intense pain. Disoriented, he leaned against the police vehicle, which was stationary, and was told: "Don't lean on the f***ing vehicle, goddammit."
Recorded by a video camera, the assault occurred during a police operation in the community.
At the time, the Military Police Ombudsman's Office said it repudiated the violence and that a procedure had been initiated with the Internal Affairs department to investigate the case.
In the defense presented by the São Paulo state government in the proceedings, the State declared that the military police officer acted in compliance with his legal duty, since the elderly man, "in an apparent state of intoxication, improperly approached the vehicle and disobeyed repeated orders to step back."
According to the government, "there was exclusive fault on the part of the victim" and the lawsuit "is an attempt to subvert the natural order of things and undermine the safety of all citizens."
"The work of the security forces is essential for the maintenance of public order and the protection of society against crime and violence," the State Attorney General's Office stated in the proceedings. "They [the agents] are responsible for ensuring security and social peace, often putting their own lives at risk to fulfill their duty."
Justice Bandeira Lins stated in the ruling that the action was disproportionate and excessive. "This did not constitute the fulfillment of duty or the regular exercise of a right, let alone self-defense," he said. "The use of a chemical agent directly against the face of an elderly person caused intense physical suffering."
According to the justice, "the use of pepper spray cannot be attributed to the exclusive fault of the victim."
