A proposal presented in a bill submitted on Friday to the Assembly of the Republic by Chega suggests that the current regulations regarding the use of firearms by security forces are too restrictive, leaving officers “unable to respond in situations where defense through the use of firearms, or their use to prevent the commission of crimes, is the only response.”
The party criticizes the current framework, which only permits the use of firearms “against people if there is imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm,” arguing that it should also cover cases of “public order disturbances.”
“These are situations where it is not just the life or physical integrity of an officer that may be in danger: the lives or physical integrity of several officers, or the life and physical integrity of the officer and the citizen under their occasional protection, or the life or physical integrity of the officer and other innocent people may also be at risk,” the document states.
Chega aims to “restore the authority of the security forces, re-establishing the obvious rule that firearms are to be used when necessary.”
The party proposes “eliminating the exceptionality of the reasons that can justify firearm use against people and, further, introduces a new norm with a set of circumstances that necessarily imply the use of firearms,” the document continues.
The bill, led by André Ventura, proposes amendments to the decree-law, adding a new subparagraph to Article 3 of the law, which governs the situations under which security forces are permitted to use firearms.
Currently, the law permits the use of firearms against individuals “to repel unlawful current aggression directed at the officer or third parties, if there is an imminent danger of death or serious physical harm.”
In the alteration proposed by Chega, such imminent danger of death or serious physical harm is suggested to be considered verified “whenever the aggression comes from a suspect of a crime committed through violence or the threat of violence, using a weapon or by three or more people.”
Another proposed amendment by Chega concerns another subparagraph of the same article, which currently allows officers to use firearms to capture or prevent the escape of a person suspected of “committing a crime punishable by imprisonment of more than three years” and possessing “firearms, bladed weapons, or devices or substances explosive, radioactive, or suitable for the manufacture of toxic or asphyxiating gases.”
The party wants “electric weapons” to be included in this range of weapons possessed by the suspect.
Chega also proposes changes to the article concerning warnings that officers must give before using firearms, removing the current legal requirement that, when this resource is used against a gathering of people, the warning “must be repeated.”
