Outrage in Brazil as mentally ill Black man dies in police car 'gas chamber'
Source: The Guardian
Outrage in Brazil as mentally ill Black man dies in police car ‘gas chamber’
Genivaldo de Jesus Santos dies of asphyxiation as video shows officers forcing him into vehicle then releasing gas grenade
Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro
Thu 26 May 2022 19.55 BST
Last modified on Thu 26 May 2022 22.44 BST
Brazilians have responded with outrage to the death of a mentally ill Black man who was bundled into the back of a police car by officers who then released a gas grenade inside the vehicle.
Genivaldo de Jesus Santos, 38, was stopped by the federal highway police in the city of Umbaúba on Wednesday. Video footage of the incident shows two officers in helmets holding the car boot closed on his thrashing legs, as clouds of gas billow out of the vehicle.
“They’re going to kill the guy,” an onlooker can be heard saying, as Santos’s legs go still.
An autopsy report confirmed on Thursday that Santos had died of asphyxiation. HIs death came two years to the day after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer who was later found guilty of murder.
According to his family, Santos suffered from schizophrenia, for which he took medication.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/26/brazil-mentally-ill-black-man-dies-gas-police-car
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