A 45-year-old man has died after an incident involving police officers and residents in Barrio 20, a low-income neighbourhood in the south of the capital.
Authorities from the Buenos Aires City government said an internal police inquiry and a judicial investigation into the death have been opened.
Barrio 20, also known as Villa 20, is located in Villa Lugano, in the south of the capital. The incident occurred shortly before 1pm near the intersection of Chilavert and Araujo streets, in Villa Lugano, where City Police officers were responding to reports of disturbances in the area.
According to police sources cited by local media, officers were confronted by a group of residents who threw stones and bottles at them, prompting police to intervene to disperse the crowd.
The police say crowd-control equipment was used during the operation and that three officers suffered injuries.
During the incident, a man later identified by local media as Gabriel González sustained a wound to the torso. He was assisted at the scene by SAME emergency medical staff and transferred to Hospital Piñero, in the Flores district, where he later died.
The precise nature of the injury has not yet been officially confirmed, and a full autopsy has been ordered to establish the cause of death.
Two men, aged 21 and 32, and a 42-year-old woman were detained during the operation and later released. One of those involved is reported to be González’s son.
The case is being handled by National Criminal and Correctional Court No. 20, which has delegated investigative proceedings to the Federal Police. City Police say they have handed over mobile phones, body cameras and the crowd-control equipment used during the operation for forensic examination.
Separately, the Office of Transparency and External Control of the City’s Security & Internal Affairs Ministry has opened an administrative inquiry to assess the conduct of the officers involved.
Family members of González have accused City Police of using excessive force and, together with neighbours, organised a march in Villa Lugano to demand answers from the authorities and accountability for his death.
– TIMES/NA
Comments