Brazil police force fires tear gas at protests over black man’s killing
Published on: Wednesday, November 25, 2020
By: AFP
A black man raises his fist during a protest against the death of Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
BRASILIA: Brazilian police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters marching against the death of a black man beaten to death by white guards at a Carrefour supermarket.Several days of protest have erupted in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, after video footage last week showed 40-year-old welder Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas being punched in the face and head by a security guard while another guard held him.
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The latest march occupied a street and interrupted traffic in front of a Carrefour branch in the city.
A small number of protesters threw stones and fireworks at the police, who dispersed the group using tear gas and rubber bullets, AFP reporters witnessed.
Carrefour promised to earmark $5 million to fight against racism, saying that “we know that we cannot repair the loss of the life of Mr. Joao Alberto.”Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Carrefour has faced a wave of boycott calls and sometimes violent protests outside its stores across Brazil, drawing comparisons with the killing of George Floyd in the United States in May and the ensuing protests. Carrefour chief executive Alexandre Bompard was swift to condemn the killing as a “horrible act,” and sent his condolences to the victim’s family and cut ties with the private security company that supplied the two guards.
