Allegations Against the Police Officer
The allegations from the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP), which the Lusa agency accessed today, indicate that “during the investigation proceedings carried out, suspicions arose that the report prepared by the Public Security Police (PSP) contains inconsistencies and inaccuracies.” The accusation emphasizes that “one of the existing suspicions is, immediately, regarding the authorship” of the report, “since it is claimed to have been prepared at 14:55 on October 21, 2024,” by the PSP officer who shot the victim.
Details of the Incident
According to the accusation, “at that date and time, he was being interrogated by the Judicial Police, a procedure that began at 14:40 and ended at 18:00 on October 21, 2024, taking place at the DLVT [Directorate of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo] – PJ, in Lisbon.” In this context, the MP further stated that, by order dated December 19, 2024, “a certificate was extracted for the autonomous investigation of these facts.”
The Charges
The PSP officer is charged with the homicide of Odair Moniz, which carries a prison sentence of eight to sixteen years. The MP has also requested that “the defendant await further proceedings in the case under the precautionary measure of suspension from the exercise of his profession as a PSP officer.” Currently, the officer is on medical leave and there is no set date for his return to work, having been transferred from the station where he was working at the time of Odair Moniz’s death.
Victim and Circumstances
Odair Moniz, a 43-year-old Cape Verdean citizen residing in the Zambujal neighborhood in Amadora, was shot by a PSP officer in the early hours of October 21 in the Cova da Moura neighborhood, also in the municipality of Amadora, Lisbon district. He died shortly thereafter at the São Francisco Xavier Hospital in Lisbon. According to the official version from the PSP, the man attempted to “flee” in a car after seeing a police vehicle and crashed in Cova da Moura, where, when approached by officers, he “allegedly resisted arrest and attempted to assault them with a knife.”
Public Response and Ongoing Investigations
The SOS Racismo association and the Vida Justa movement contested the police version and demanded a “serious and impartial” investigation to determine responsibility, asserting that there is an issue of “a culture of impunity” within the police forces. That week, riots occurred in Zambujal and other neighborhoods in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, resulting in the burning and vandalization of buses, cars, and garbage bins, along with around twenty arrests and additional suspects identified.
In addition to the judicial process, disciplinary proceedings are ongoing at the Inspectorate-General of Internal Administration (IGAI) and within the PSP.
