Businessman Vinícius Lopes Gritzbach, murdered at Guarulhos International Airport last Friday (8), confirmed on October 31st, to the Civil Police Internal Affairs, the statement he had made, to the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo, against civil police officers. He reported the police officers to the Internal Affairs Department for extortion. Eight days later, was killed. The information was given by the Secretary of Public Security (SSP) of the State of São Paulo, Guilherme Derrite, in a press conference this Monday afternoon (11).
“We do not rule out this possibility [de ter policiais entre os atiradores que mataram Gritzbach]. The most important thing to say is this: we don’t rule out any possibility, actually. Especially because he denounced civil police officers at the Civil Police Internal Affairs Office, which was an offshoot of his denouncement at the Public Ministry,” he said.
Derrite stated that the investigation has, so far, no indication that police officers participated in the action at the airport, but highlighted that some “facts draw attention”.
“We have no indication, for now, of participation [de policiais] there at the execution. There are some facts that draw attention, which is the fact that the escort police officers were late, precisely on the day, but all these pieces of the puzzle come together throughout the investigation”, he said.
Gritzbach, who was accused of the murder of two people linked to the criminal group Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), had, according to the SSP, four military police officers in his security team. On the day of the murder, some of these security guards were late and did not go to the airport. The four police officers were removed and are being investigated.
“We now depend on the results of the investigations that will be carried out [nos celulares dos envolvidos]. We have no problem investigating and investigating misconduct, whether in the Military Policy or in the Civil Police,” said Derrite.
The secretary declined to say exactly how many police officers are being investigated, in addition to the four police officers who worked as Gritzbach’s security guards.
Derrite also announced the creation of a task force to investigate the crime. One resolution was published this Monday (11) in Official State Gazette officializing the creation of the group.
The resolution, signed by the head of the Public Security department, highlights the “need for integrated and coordinated action between the state’s police institutions to offer a quick and effective response to society, accurately elucidating this crime”.
The group will be coordinated by the executive secretary of the SSP, delegate Osvaldo Nico Gonçalves. In addition to him, delegate Caetano Paulo Filho, from the Civil Police Intelligence Department; the delegate of the State Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP) Ivalda Aleixo; Colonel Pedro Luís de Souza Lopes, head of the PM Intelligence Center; Colonel Fábio Sérgio do Amaral, from the PM’s Internal Affairs Department; and criminal expert Karin Kawakami de Vicente.
