Mexico City - Mexico City ombudsman, Luis González Placencia, said police "delayed acting" during riots at the protest march of last June 10, which resulted in twenty-two prisoners and seven remanded.
"As important as guaranteeing the right to protest is that the police are able to act in a timely manner so that violence doesn't break out. It seems that they again delayed in acting, which stirred up anger in the police officers themselves, who are over-exposed to violence and [prone] to detaining people who had nothing to do with it," he declared.The head of the Human Rights Commission of the Federal District [Mexico City] indicated that they will support those remanded by the riots to verify that "due process" is carried out, and he claimed that so far there have been no reports of the abuse of authority.
"We were at the Public Ministry [investigative police and prosecutors]. We certified the people injured, and we will issue a report shortly," he said.Professionalism of Human Rights Commission Defended
The Human Rights Commission of the Federal District [CDHDF] later "categorically" rejected statements by the Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District [SSPDF], Jesús Rodríguez Almeida, who said that investigations by the organization are "biased".
Through a statement, the agency said that its investigations are based on "professional technical work" and "are far from any political judgment". The statement added that the CDHDF asked the SSPDF [for permission] to interview the police officers injured on June 10, with the intention of safeguarding their rights and in order to rely on more comprehensive pieces of evidence. The request was denied by the local agency.
"The head of police did not report this situation. This is proof that in our investigations, as has always been done, the official point of view is sought," he said.The CDHDF reiterated that the statements by the Secretary are "unsustainable", since their investigations are based on a vast body of evidence that includes: video, radio communications, police logs, reports requested, the general order of operations, and more than 50 testimonies gathered from police commanders and rank and file officers.
The statement cited the example of what happened on December 1, 2102, the day of the protests against the inauguration of Enrique Peña Nieto as president.
"In testimony taken directly from police officers involved in the operation on December 1, 2012, they themselves did not rely on intervention protocols grounded in ongoing training in crisis response; moreover, on the day of the events, the operations order was not transmitted. That is, the CDHDF took into consideration what the police officers themselves said."Finally, the organization condemned the violence against the police, against property of the people and against the city itself.
Key Points
- In its recommendation, the Human Rights Commission shows that
"from the [police] radio communications, it is observed that beginning at 9:00 AM police on the ground reported acts of violence and, for more than three hours, senior commanders did not make appropriate decisions to prevent the proliferation of violence."
- In particular,
"it is noted the over-exposure of [police] officers to aggression."In addition, the commission recommended defending the rights of those who suffered damage to their property,
"since an efficient police operation could have contained and prevented violence against businesses; that is, the CDHDF also called for compensation for damage caused to multiple property owners."