Page Seven / La Paz
Early this Saturday, Police Sergeant Arnold Marín was involved in a traffic accident near the seventh ring road and Santos Dumont Avenue, in the city of Santa Cruz. Marín was driving a vehicle while intoxicated that they presume is undocumented or “chuto”, since there are discrepancies between the chassis number and the control plate.
“In the early morning of this May 7, personnel dependent on this unit arrested a driver who was involved in a traffic event under alcoholic influence (…) but the most striking thing is that the license plate of the vehicle he was driving does not correspond to the chassis number. ”, reported Captain Edman Lara, head of security at the Comprehensive Police Station (EPI).
According to the video taken by the officer in charge of the case, Marín not only resisted arrest, but also hurled insults and threats at the captain. It was reported that at the time of reviewing the sergeant’s police record, a criminal record was found; “The sergeant was held in the Palmasola prison for the crime of aggravated robbery in the attempted degree in 2019,” Lara said.
“As a result of his drunken state, he begins to attack me (…) I am surprised by the attitude of a police officer,” Lara said. She pointed out that the origin of the motorized vehicle is still under investigation, which they presume could be the result of a robbery.
The sergeant’s case came to the attention of the Public Ministry to be prosecuted for dangerous driving, but also, as a result of the insults and threats he uttered, he will be referred to the disciplinary body in the Departmental Directorate of Police Investigation (Didipi).
The incident is recorded in the midst of a scandal that once again affects the image of the Bolivian Police, due to the fact that several of its members are involved in the smuggling and sale of stolen cars in Chile. The issue was revealed by a report on the television channel of that country, Meganoticias.
According to the NGO Grupo Search for Vehicles (GBV) of Chile, 90% of stolen cars in their country are in the hands of officials in Bolivia.
