Step by step: it was the brutal arrest of the woman who died at the hands of the police in Tulum

Controversy over police abuse once again engulfs the state of Quintana Roo in the Mexican Caribbean. This time, the events happened in the tourist paradise of Tulum. This Saturday afternoon An allegedly drunk woman was walking along Avenue La Selva. Apparently, she was disturbing the peace, so the local police restrained her on the road. She died.

Local media reported that security elements were on board the patrol 9273. And it was on the way that they approached the woman, asserting her alleged embarrassing condition.

Later, in a video circulating on social media, at least from two different angles, we observe how the police, a woman and three men, they threw her to the ground and applied excessive force to the victim. From what the footage reveals, the woman did not offer any resistance at any time. What could be heard, in reaction to the subjugation of the police, were the cries of the inmate who asked for help because it was difficult for her to breathe due to the pain they were exerting on. the area of ​​his neck.

After a few moments, also recorded in the footage which went viral, the woman was no longer moving and she was no longer heard screaming. Until then, one of the policemen kept his knee on the detainee’s neck.

It is there, which we also observe, that they raised her, but she no longer reacted. And instead of calling an ambulance, they just loaded the woman’s body and put her in the back of their patrol. From that point on, it was known that the inmate no longer had any vital signs. The police went to the premises of the Civil Protection (PC), where they confirmed that the victim had already had died.

The cause of death was presumably suffocation.

The mayor of Tulum, Víctor Mas Tah, strongly condemned the events in the Tumben Kah neighborhood, “as I learned of the unfortunate events I ordered the items to be brought to the attorney general’s office, being registered in the research file FGE / QUINTANAROO03292021 ″, he announced.

Also, in a message posted on his social networks, the mayor called on the competent authorities, “for investigations to be carried out, for responsibilities to be determined and for justice to be done”.

“We will not allow these situations in Tulum; It is unacceptable”, reproached the mayor, warning that his administration will seek to reach the final consequences of the events.

For its part, the parquet of Quintana Roo itself announced that An investigation file was opened into the murder of a woman by security elements that took place in Tulum on the afternoon of March 27.

“The @FGEQuintanaRoo reports having opened an investigation file related to the homicide to the detriment of a victim with private identity which occurred this Saturday afternoon in the town of Tulum. Forensic experts are investigating the cause of death. Homicide prosecutors and officers conduct investigations. The municipal police are already questioned about what happened. “, We read in the publication, which was retweeted by the state governor, Carlos Manuel Joaquín González.

As well the Human Rights Commission of the State of Quintana Roo has ruled in this regard, by announcing that he had opened an ex officio complaint for violation of the human right to life, with the aim of investigating the officials concerned.

“The Commission for Human Rights of the State of Quintana Roo has opened a complaint ex officio, on the occasion of notes, photos and videos circulating in various local media, who report on the death of a woman after police officers in Tulum overpowered her on the public highway.

The complaint file was filed under number VA / TUL / 014/03/2021 for violations of the human right to life and those resulting therefrom, in order to investigate possible acts or omissions of officials of the General Directorate of Public Security and Traffic in Tulum, which by their nature can be serious and constitute human rights violations.“, He detailed in the statement.

Inevitably, This woman’s case evoked the tragedy that occurred on May 25, 2020 in the United States during the death of George Floyd -an African-American man- at the hands of a white policeman in Minnesota, United States. The scene was the same. After a minimal altercation with the security elements, they overpowered him. They were also not measured with the pressure the knee put on his neck and he died at that time.

These events sparked a series of protests that escalated over the days. Movements that crossed the North American country but also reached places like New Zealand.

KEEP READING: