The Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj) overturned, this Thursday (18), the State government’s veto of the so-called “wild west bonus”. The term refers to the provision of rewarding civil police officers who kill people considered criminals.
The article that deals with the subject is part of the Law 11,003/25which restructures the permanent structure of the State Secretariat of Civil Police. The provision states that a civil police officer can be rewarded, in amounts ranging from 10% to 150% of his salary, in cases such as victimization on duty, seizure of large-caliber or restricted-use weapons during police operations, or even the so-called “neutralization of criminals”.
The section had been vetoed by the Executive on the grounds that there was no budget for payments. Despite this, during the session, the government leader in the House, deputy Rodrigo Amorim (União), defended the overturn of the veto.
DPU complaints
The Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) denounced the illegality of the project that reestablishes the bonus in September this year. According to the body, the awarding device encourages lethal confrontations, violates the Federal Constitution and contradicts decisions of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).
According to the DPU, in addition to being unconstitutional, the project also suffers from a lack of initiative, as proposals that establish bonuses for security agents must be initiated by the respective head of the Executive Branch.
According to the Ombudsman’s Office, the very term “neutralization”, used in the law, is imprecise and in itself violates the dignity of the human person.
“People are not ‘neutralized’, but rather they are killed or injured, whether or not there is exclusion (ascertained after police investigation and possibly legal proceedings), of illegality due to the need to preserve the life or safety of innocent people”, says the document, written by the regional human rights defender from Rio de Janeiro, Thales Arcoverde Treiger.
Nicknamed “wild west bonus”, the policy is not unprecedented in the state. It was in force between 1995 and 1998 and ended up suspended by Alerj itself after reports of extermination and encouragement of police lethality.
