The images are strong and have already gone viral on the networks. Gabriel González, a 45-year-old construction worker, died Thursday after being shot by a City police officer. In the videos that went viral, you can see an altercation between the agents and González, and then how the worker is finished off at point-blank range by an officer. Justice is investigating the details of this incident, and the force has initiated an internal investigation.
The altercation occurred on Thursday afternoon, at the intersection of Chilavert and Araujo, where the Tactical Pacification Unit Division went to respond to a call about disturbances in the 20th neighborhood. According to the police, the officers were attacked by a group with stones and bottles, increasing tension in the area. Several neighbors, however, say exactly the opposite: that it was the police who heated up the atmosphere. “In a police patrol my cousin Juan Gabriel was murdered at point-blank range when he was defending himself and without any type of weapon,” said Oscar Villaverde, teacher and cousin of the deceased. “The police officers did not let them do CPR”denounced the neighbor on whose doorstep González died. Both testimonies can be seen in a video that the neighbors circulated.
The police reported that several officers were injured and that three individuals were arrested: two men, ages 21 and 32, and a 42-year-old woman, who were released a few hours later. The case remained under the jurisdiction of the National Criminal and Correctional Court No. 20.
The family of the deceased called for a march for today on the corner of Cruz and Escalada. “The Police killed him, he was a worker,” can be read on the summons flyer. The demonstration will take place at 4 p.m.
