Salvador police officers face popular jury over 2022 Gamboa triple homicide

Three police officers—Tarcio Oliveira Nascimento, Thiago Leon Pereira Santos and Lucas dos Anjos Bacelar Dias—have been sent to a popular jury (Tribunal do Júri) in Salvador for the killing of three young men during a police operation on March 1 2022 in the Gamboa de Baixo community. The victims were Alexandre Santos dos Reis (20), Cléverson Guimarães Cruz (22) and Patrick Sousa Sapucaia (16). Prosecutors argue that the victims were unarmed and that no armed confrontation occurred, describing the incident as a “triple homicide qualified by torpidity, common danger and impeded defense.” The judge ruled that there is sufficient evidence for a jury trial, but the date of the hearing has not yet been set. The officers will remain free while awaiting the trial.