simonshack wrote:Are you saying that the man in blue-white-striped shirt was actually KILLED ? For real? Shot in the head? No blood?
And what's with that "bravery/stupidity" comment, dear Flabbergasted? Do you think a guy trying to wrestle a pepper spray from a policeman is stupid - and deserves to be shot in the head?
Since we all depend on the news media for information (with extremely rare exceptions), I have no way of determining whether the man was actually shot/killed. I don´t think the video allows to draw conclusions in either direction, but I may have missed some important clue.
The line separating bravery from stupidity is tenuous. The events preceding the part seen in the video vary depending on the source (not surprising, given the implications), but based on my everyday experience in Brazil (in very similar environments) I would say the man was not approached without a good reason. It would be very naïve to presume he is "an innocent victim of police brutality".
One might argue in hindsight that the conflict could have been handled very differently. Whatever the reason, it makes little sense to put up a savage fight against three armed policemen when you can easily talk your way out of a street scuffle. Troublemakers and thieves who get arrested (very rare, actually) are usually released the same day. Sometimes they are back on the street before the policemen finish filing reports at the station.
Now, a complete stranger trying to disarm a nervous policeman who is waving a gun in the air during a police action, after repeatedly ordering onlookers to keep their distance, that´s more foolhardy than brave. But, Simon, I did not say or imply he "deserved" to be shot.