Death of young man by civil police officer in SP generates panic: ‘It won’t just happen to Lucas’

Lucas da Silva was killed by a civil police officer in Guarulhos, Greater SP, on March 18. Friends and residents of the region believe that the action is a response to the murder of a police officer and his daughter

The death of Lucas da Silva, 22 years old, has caused panic and revolt in the São Rafael community, in Guarulhos (Greater SP). The young man was killed with at least one shot fired by civil police officer Rodrigo Luiz Ferriani. Friends and residents of the region see the action as revenge after the death of Military Police corporal Anderson de Oliveira Valentim, 46, and his daughter, Alycia Perroni Valentim, 19, in February. “This won’t just happen to Lucas,” said a neighbor of the victim.

Last Thursday (21/3), friends and residents of the community held a protest on Fernão Dias, the same highway where the young man was killed. They even closed four lanes during the afternoon. On the floor was written: Justice, mourning, rubbish system.

Both São Rafael and Favela do Coruja, in Vila Guilherme, north of São Paulo, have been living with fear for about a month. In February, the bridge heard from residents of both locations. They reported illegal home invasions, brutal approaches and threats. All this after the car used by the men who killed the PM was found in São Rafael. Lucas’ death is seen as a sign of worsening.

The young man was killed on March 18. The police report states that police officer Ferriani was “on patrol”, accompanied by police chief Felipe Berna Milen, when they saw “an individual in a suspicious attitude”. The pair began to monitor the movements of the young man, who was driving a motorbike. He would not have respected orders to stop, according to the agents.

Lucas would have taken one of his hands off the handlebars and, in the police officer’s version, placed it on his waist, as if he were going to grab something, “forcing civil police officer Rodrigo to fire a firearm to protect himself from the imminent aggression”. Wounded with at least one shot in the lower back, he was reportedly taken to the Jaçanã Emergency Care Unit (UPA), where his death was confirmed.

The police say they found a 22-caliber revolver with seven live cartridges in Lucas’ possession. The cell phone and R$150 in cash were also seized with the young man.

Lucas’s friends don’t believe the police officers’ version. “He wasn’t a thief, he wasn’t a murderer and he didn’t have a gun,” said a friend.

That night, according to reports from his friends, he had left home to meet a girlfriend at her house. A bridge had access to the exchange of messages between the two. At 11:23 pm, he wrote: “Already, I’m there.” It was the last message sent by the young man.

The other day, around 3:25 pm, his girlfriend questioned Lucas’s disappearance. The text is not received by the young person’s device. Later, with her death confirmed, she gets emotional: “if I knew it was (sic) the last time, everything would be different. I love you”.

Friends believe that the approach to the young man may have occurred because of the motorcycle he was driving. Six months ago, Lucas would have bought the motorcycle from the brother of one of the suspects of killing the PM corporal. The plan is that he could use the vehicle to work with deliveries.

The motorcycle remains registered under the name of the former owner, which, according to friends, may have motivated the approach. “The guys are looking for revenge. They are at headquarters because they killed the police officer and his daughter,” says a colleague.

Lucas is described as a happy and flirtatious young man. He liked to go out with his friends to parties on the weekend. In September last year, he was released after spending two months in prison, allegedly for drug trafficking. “If Lucas had committed a crime, the system’s role is to arrest, not kill”, says a friend.

Help the Bridge!

In addition to mourning, friends fear new situations of violence in the community. Such as bridge showed in February, São Rafael was left without electricity. Residents believed that the power outage was caused by police action. “Just for justice to be done, that’s what we want… Justice, safety and protection,” said a resident.

What the authorities say

A bridge He contacted the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) requesting an interview about the case with a spokesperson and the public agent involved. The points covered in the report were also questioned. There was no response until the publication of this text.