Entities from the São Paulo black movement and Frente Povo Sem Medo held a demonstration on Thursday night (5) calling for the departure of the Secretary of Public Security of the State of São Paulo (SSP), Guilherme Derrite. 
The act, which began in front of the Municipal Theater of São Paulo, and went on a march to the headquarters of the Public Security Secretariat, in the center of the capital of São Paulo, occurs amid a growing series of allegations of abuse of power and homicides committed by police officers in the state of São Paulo and recorded on cameras.
“Each of us who are here, who come from the hoods, from the cantons here in São Paulo, we all have someone close to us who died due to police violence, and most of these people are black. Police violence mainly affects the black population. It is very important to say that the black movement, in other times, already overthrew the public security secretary. And we will take it down again”, said Fabíola Carvalho, from Uneafro.
For Priscila dos Santos, from the Movimento de Luta nos Bairros, Vilas e Favelas, police violence will only decrease with the demilitarization of the corporation and the punishment for actions that violate the law.
“This demonstration here is to demand a stance, to demand that we have a real punishment for police officers who are taking this type of attitude. We need a different kind of organization that actually protects the people. We believe that there is a need to demilitarize the police. It means that we need to build an institution that is not built along military lines, that goes after the people as if they were their enemy in Brazilian territory”, he said.
São Paulo (SP), 12/05/2024 – act against police violence, concentration in front of the São Paulo municipal theater, Praça Ramos de Azevedo. Photo: Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil – Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil
Cameras and Ombudsman
The protesters’ demands also include the installation of cameras on all police officers’ uniforms and external control over the troops. “We do want the return of police cameras, but we also want external control of the police. We want respect for the external Military Police Ombudsman’s Office and not a fake body, a body within the secretariat. And we also want Derrite to resign”, highlighted Simone Nascimento, from the Unified Black Movement (MNU).
The governor of the state of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, who even reduced the budget for the purchase of body cameras for the police, admitted this Thursday (5) that he was wrong on the matter.
“You take, for example, the issue of cameras. I was a person who was completely wrong on this issue. So I had a mistaken view, the result of my past experience, which has nothing to do with the issue of public safety. Today I am absolutely convinced that it is an instrument to protect society and the police. And we will not only maintain the program, but expand the program and try to bring the best in terms of technology”, he said at a press conference.
The state government published in the Official State Gazette, last week, a resolution creating an ombudsman within the department itself, parallel to the existing Police Ombudsman’s Office, which has been making complaints about irregular actions by the PM. According to the SSP, however, the new ombudsman will not act on matters relating to human rights.
Other side
Regarding this Thursday’s demonstration, the SSP said, in a statement, that it does not condone misconduct by its agents, punishing those who break the law with absolute rigor. “Since the beginning of the current administration, more than 280 police officers have been fired or expelled, and 414 officers have been arrested. In recent days, more than 20 military police officers have been removed from operational activities and two have been arrested, due to recent episodes” , informed the folder.
According to the SSP, the numbers reflect the rigor of the investigations conducted by the internal affairs bodies, “which act in a structured and independent manner to ensure that no irregularity goes unpunished.”
