On Tuesday, October 24, the chief of the Police of the City of Buenos Aires, Gabriel Berard, turned 61 and decided to throw the police station out the window and organize a party that provoked the indignation of some of his subordinates. The “boss party,” as it was known, took place that same Tuesday at noon at the Jet bowling alley on the Costanera Norte, one of the most VIP nightclubs in Buenos Aires. According to witnesses and sources from the club itself, the party lasted well into the afternoon and was attended by commissioners and superintendents from the entire City Police, meaning that, during the time it lasted, the entire city was with the party. headless police headquarters, while the higher-ups danced to the rhythm of Violeta, by Alcides.
The chief did not celebrate alone, because he has a twin brother named Gustavo who is also a police officer (see box). Gabriel is a fan of Vélez and Gustavo of Boca, so two cakes were made, one decorated with the colors of Fortín and the other with those of Xeneize. The drinks bar was free for guests. But what impacted those present the most was that a collection was made to give money to the birthday boy. Eye-witness sources say that “the boss” ordered them not to bring him pesos, because it was going to be a very large gift, and he warned that he preferred dollars. The floor that was established for the collection would have been 200 dollars per head. In the City of Buenos Aires there are 53 neighborhood police stations, 15 communal police stations and 17 superintendencies, and to this group we must add the deputy chief of the Police and other members of the force, so it is estimated that the gift from the subordinates could have been higher at 17 thousand dollars, because it is estimated that the higher-ranking commissioners could have been a little more generous when it came to collaborating.
For the curators, the request for a collection or the conditions for giving a gift were not strange, because Berard would already have a history of whims for his birthday. In previous years, he made a gift list as if it were a wedding. That list included blenders, coffee makers and other appliances, which his subordinates did not hesitate to give him. A logic of such subordination can only be understood in a police structure, where verticalism is consolidated by fear in hierarchical relationships. In simple Spanish: they comply because they are afraid of the boss.
Discharge. When consulted by this magazine, Berard confirmed that he rented the bowling alley, but clarified that it was not the entire complex, but just a room. He also said that the celebration lasted only three hours and not the entire afternoon. He wanted to clarify that he only rented a VIP bowling alley for nothing more than to have “a camaraderie barbecue” with the commissioners and bosses and denied that there had been a demand for “money in dollars and much less gift lists,” as in previous years. .
Among Berard’s other eccentricities was having brought his personal police chef to the event to feed all the guests. He also has a community manager who manages his Instagram account @jefepolcaba and created the Jefatura Custody division in which 32 custodians work just for him. The Buenos Aires Minister of Security Gustavo Coria has 15. That is to say that the Chief of Police, of lower rank than him, has more than double the amount of custody.
Berard took over as head of the City Police in 2018, after the resignation of Carlos Kervokian, who had taken over as chief a year earlier after the resignation of José Pedro Potocar. Since he took charge of the Police, Berard has seen five Security Ministers pass by. When he arrived there was Martín Ocampo, who had to resign after the scandal over the 2018 Copa Libertadores final between Boca and River, when the Boca team was stoned by the bus. Then Diego Santilli passed, who left in 2021 to be a national deputy. Between 2021 and 2023 there was Marcelo D’Alessandro, who resigned due to the scandal of the trip with judges to Joe Lewis’s mansion in Lago Escondido. This year, Berard saw the six-month administration of Eugenio Burzaco pass away, fired for having gone to watch a US Open tennis match in the middle of the security crisis in Buenos Aires, and two months ago he welcomed Gustavo Coria with open arms, the new minister. Everyone passes and Berard always remains.
Background. In judicial matters, Berard was involved in a strange movement around the case for the death of Lucas González, the 17-year-old teenager who played in the Barracas Central youth teams and who was murdered by the Comuna 4 brigade of the police. City. The three police officers involved were convicted and the force, far from exonerating them, would have retired them so that they could retain retirement benefits.
Before becoming chief, Berard had a stint in the Federal Police, where he joined in 1982. His brother Gustavo had a similar career, but he was in the areas of investigation and brigade management. The Berards built a career in parallel and do everything together, including birthdays.
