2023-09-18 03:15:00
The province of Neuquén must pay a million-dollar sum to the family of a 15-year-old teenager who was beaten by the Police, suffered serious damage to his health and died at the same time. The ruling of the Superior Court of Justice was communicated to the Executive Branch so that it “provides the security forces training courses on the obligations to respect and guarantee human rights, especially the Rights of the Child”.
The State Prosecutor’s Office intervened on behalf of the province of Neuquén, tried to achieve a reduction in the amount to be paid. The legal representative of the victim’s family said that the arguments he used “they reach immorality and bad taste«.
Along the same lines, the ruling of the Superior Court indicates that “some lines of argument” of the State Prosecutor “They are frankly difficult to cope with and care for”.
How was the attack?
The 15-year-old teenager, his 19-year-old brother and other people were on Olascoaga and Aconcagua avenues in February 2011 when two police officers carried out “an identification procedure«. One of the young men greeted one of the officers, because he confused him with someone who was performing additional services in his father’s business, and He received the response: “I don’t know you, you fucking bastard.”. The officers’ version is that they were attacked, something that is not corroborated by the medical examination.
According to the ruling of the Administrative Procedural Chamber of the Court, signed by Gustavo Mazieres and Alfredo Elosu Larumbe, The young man was attacked with punches and kicks by the policewhich caused irreversible injuries, a 41% disabilityand following extensive and painful medical treatments and surgical interventions, passed away.
The first instance ruling, issued by administrative procedural judge María Cecilia Gómez, states: “It has not been possible to prove that the teenager attacked the officers, in such a way that it would have been necessary to reduce it through the use of force. Even though it can be interpreted that the young man exerted some resistance, the severity of the injuries, which manifested itself in an internal injury, “accounts for the disproportionate use of force by police personnel.”
The attempt at justification
The state prosecutor’s office “recognizes the fact but justifies police repression with a ‘state of minimum necessary coercion’ and “He considers that the procedure was successful because fists and not weapons were used, considering it appropriate to hit a minor under 15 years of age.”.
The representative of the interests of the Province also argued that the teenager ““He finally died, and then he will not have to have neurological check-ups every 6 months or depend on medication.” to deal with the followingmath of the beating, so the amount set as compensation must be reducedwhich contemplated those expenses.
The family reacted to this position by describing it as “immoral” and “in bad taste” the position of the state prosecutor.
What was demonstrated
During the process it was shown that the teenager “did not hit anyone with his hands” and that “there had not been a conflict, complaint, or call that warranted police intervention to pacify.”
«Police officers used excessive forcewhich showed a defective provision of the security service that made the defendant Province responsible,” he added.
Neither of them were charged by the prosecution., and not by the Headquarters either. That they have not received criminal or administrative sanctions It did not prevent the province from being sentenced to pay a million-dollar amount for the damage they caused.
“Dignified treatment”
In his vote, member Mazieres highlighted: “a procedure for identifying people where minors are involved must have the proper and special security conditions.” “that guarantee dignified and protective treatment of the life and physical integrity of minors”.
«The dramatic nature of the case – he continued – leads me to reflect on the need to address the issue that “does not only involve the compensatory aspect of the damage already caused”.
«It must be noted that when the Rights of the Child are at stake, the compensatory function involves a late approach to the conflict because the damage has already been consummated and this implies that the preventive measures aimed at preventing injury to the life, physical, mental and moral integrity of childrenwho must be recipients of special protection from the State,” wrote Mazieres.
He advanced in that direction: “those people who were supposed to care for him and protect him especially were the ones who caused the serious injuries.” suffered by the minor, which left terrible consequences on his body that prevented him from leading a normal life, free of pain and physical suffering. “This cannot happen once more.”.
“State power is not unlimited”
The judge clarified that “this does not imply ignoring the obligation of the State to ‘guarantee and maintain public order.’ But it must be understood that State power in this matter is not unlimitedtheir actions are conditioned by respect for the fundamental rights of individuals.
For this reason, he proposed that «the Provincial Executive Branch provides security forces with training courses on the obligations to respect and guarantee human rights, especially the Rights of the Child; in which information is provided regarding what happened in this case -vindicating the memory of the victim- and work on the shortcomings that were exposed, in order to provide the agents who are members of the Provincial Police, tools to adapt those practices that involve minors, to the special protection imposed by the standards of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the National Constitution and the Provincial Constitution.
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