Ecuador: Police who killed assailants sentenced to 3 years in prison

Ecuador in a state of exception, will it be enough?

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(CNN Spanish) --

An Ecuadorian police officer who killed two people who participated in the assault of a teenager in 2021 was sentenced this Wednesday by a court to three years and four months in prison for the crime of overreaching in the execution of a act of service, as reported by the State Attorney General's Office in a statement.

Corporal Wilson Santiago Olmedo must also pay "a fine of 10 unified basic salaries (US$425) and a comprehensive reparation of US$10,000 in favor of the relatives of each of the victims (US$20,000 in total)," he indicated. the prosecution.

The hearing lasted five days and according to Ecuavisa, a CNN affiliate, the police's defense will appeal the decision made by the court.

Hugo Espín Tobar, Olmedo's lawyer, assured, according to Ecuavisa, that "innocence should have been ratified", since the agent acted in defense of third parties and himself.

In statements to local media, Olmedo, after the sentence, said he was convinced that he had acted correctly and that "a correct procedure was carried out, as a result of which today we have the minor alive."

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When asked if he considered the sentence unfair, he replied: “Really yes, we did not think that this situation was going to happen.

It's not a final war, just a battle, we're going to keep fighting."

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According to Ecuavisa, Olmedo will continue to carry out his duties until there is a final judgment, since according to him the case is not over.

Lasso criticizes the decision as "outrageous"

The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, reacted to the sentence this Wednesday.

"It is outrageous and incomprehensible that a police officer, like Corporal Wilson Santiago Olmedo, who protected the life of a teenager, is convicted," the president wrote on his social networks.

"The Ecuadorian Police must have the guarantees to fulfill their duties. We will give them all the necessary support to regain their freedom," he added.

The event occurred on June 11, 2021 in Riobamba, Chimborazo province, in central Ecuador.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Olmedo and two other agents intervened when they observed that a teenager was the victim of a robbery.

Realizing the police presence, one of the criminals fled and got on a motorcycle driven by one of his alleged accomplices.

Olmedo and another agent chased the criminal.

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In these circumstances, according to the Prosecutor's Office, "he used his supplied weapon (200 meters away) and fired more than a dozen times in the back at the occupants of the motorcycle, exceeding his limits -in this way- in the execution of an act of service, without observing or considering the progressive or rational use of force in the criteria of necessity and proportionality".

The two agents who accompanied Olmedo were not charged by the Prosecutor's Office "because they did not find sufficient elements to determine their participation in the act."

Among the main evidence that the Prosecutor's Office presented to the Court against Olmedo included the autopsy reports that confirmed violent deaths due to acute hemorrhages caused by firearm projectiles, the testimonies of police personnel who participated in the event and those who attended the scene, of people who showed up moments later and of staff who paid attention. Also the audio and video of the security cameras in the area, the reconstruction of the events and the ballistic trajectory expert opinion, among other elements.

In October 2021, after a wave of violence in various parts of Ecuador, Lasso offered full support for the actions undertaken by members of the Police and Armed Forces in the fight against crime and announced the creation of a legal defense unit for the public force to dedicate itself to the protection of its members

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Under Ecuadorian law, overreaching in the execution of an act of service can carry a sentence of 10 to 13 years.

However, the policeman received a reduced sentence.

Justice