LISBON, June 15 (Reuters) – A Portuguese court on Monday allowed a police officer to avoid jail despite convicting him of murder for shooting and killing a man from Cape Verde during an arrest in a Lisbon suburb, an incident that sparked days of unrest in 2024.
The court found police officer Bruno Pinto guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced him to a prison term of 3-1/2 years, but suspended the sentence.
It determined that the man who was killed, 43-year-old chef Odair Moniz, had resisted arrest but was unarmed, and that Pinto had acted in legitimate self-defence but had used excessive means.
Moniz’s killing sparked several nights of unrest in multiethnic neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Lisbon in October 2024. Rights groups held peaceful protests against police violence, while the far-right party Chega rallied in support of police.
According to police testimony, Moniz tried to flee in his car after seeing a police vehicle, leading to a chase, which ended when he crashed his car and resisted arrest.
Pinto’s defence argued that Moniz had a knife or other blade on him, but the court said CCTV and other evidence from the scene showed no blade was present as Moniz grappled and kicked the officers, and none was found at the scene.
Pinto’s lawyer said on Monday his client, who was also sentnced to pay €90,000 euros ($104,000) to Moniz’s heirs, was considering an appeal.
Rights groups such as SOS Racismo and the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination have for years expressed concern about excessive use of force by police in Portugal, particularly against people of African descent.
Cape Verde’s ambassador to Portugal at the time lamented the death of Moniz, calling him a law-abiding, peaceful working person.
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(Reporting by Andrei Khalip)
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