PM assaulted in June 2013 talks about acts after 10 years – 06/12/2023 – Power

Ten years ago, then-military police soldier Wanderlei Vignoli, 53, experienced one of the most emblematic moments of the June 2013 protests.

In one of the first acts against the increase in transport fares, on June 11, he tried to avoid graffiti and was attacked by demonstrators. The image of the injured police officer is seen as one of the possible fuels for the security agents in the following acts.

He reports that he had self-control not to shoot, and the conduct ended up earning him several honors. Currently, Vignoli is retired from the police and works as a criminal lawyer.

Despite condemning depredations in protests and admitting that police action is subject to excesses, he sees a positive historical balance in June 2013, with a population more attentive to politics.

How remarkable was the episode you experienced in June, do you often remember that? I remember because it was an atypical situation, it had never happened to me or my teammates. I remember that, among the protesters, there were some people who weren’t just against the ticket price, they wanted to cause a fuss, graffiti public buildings, even attack the police, create a riot, right? Some were wearing shirts [com] hooded, masked. That day I was protecting the property of the Court of Justice and the people who passed by returning to their residence or working.

How was the aggression against you? When I held the protester [que estava pichando uma parede], I only felt several stones thrown in my direction and shouts ‘lynch, kill’. Then when I raised my head, I didn’t know if there was someone armed or not, and at that moment I pulled the gun with the intention of pushing the demonstrators away and checking if they had any weapons so that nothing would happen to my life.

At that moment, I feared for my life. But thank God I didn’t see any armed demonstrators and I managed to maintain control. Even because I already had 20 years in my career. It required, in addition to God’s protection, a high degree of self-control.

Did you ever think about shooting? I thought about the possibility the moment I drew the gun. When I heard ‘lynch, kill’, I said: someone is armed. I kept looking to see if he had a weapon and if he had anything.

How did you get out of the situation? With the help of the demonstrators themselves, a journalist from Sheet also came along protecting me. Soon after, several police arrived. As my head was very bloody, they made a protective cord and I left.

Did this episode change anything in your life? Changed in a positive way. What happens a lot with military police officers is that, many times, you handle several incidents, but you don’t receive recognition from the population.

I ended up being an exception, because I received a lot of recognition, from the media and also several institutions ended up granting tributes. I received the title of Citizen of São Paulo, the Ramos de Azevedo diploma, from the Court of Justice, and I won the 1932 Constitutionalist Medal from the Legislative Assembly, and several others.

Do you believe that the image of the injured man could have generated a reaction from the police in the following demonstrations? I believe it was not because of that. I realized that the situation ended up becoming more critical because the protesters were not achieving the intended objective, which was the cancellation of the ticket price, and that’s why it ended up growing. And another: people who were infiltrated with the protesters also increased. People who said: ‘Oops, so let’s join together to cause chaos’.

How do you evaluate the performance of the police, who were criticized for abusing non-lethal weapons and leaving people injured? All professions, be it a policeman, a judge, a tradesman, have better prepared professionals and there are professionals who end up not being able to use that technique and practicing too much. The Military Police is no different. In the activity, the police officer is a human being, so he sometimes ends up losing control and practicing excessively.

My opinion is that the police tried, most of the time, to act in the most technical way possible. She accompanied the demonstrations in order to protect the demonstrators, in a way, so that the excesses were contained. Our role is not to attack any demonstrators, it is to maintain control, protect the demonstrators, as long as it is in an orderly manner, and curb excesses, such as graffiti on public buildings, aggression.

Situations that deviate from normality often end up having negative consequences. Military police officers often have to pick up a bomb with a stun effect and end up throwing it [na direção de] aggressors, often, among those aggressors, there is a person who has nothing to do with it, without protection, and a piece of shrapnel unfortunately ends up hurting.

Ten years later, how do you evaluate the results of the June protests? Removing the negative things, people who were harmed, getting hurt, removing the depredation of public buildings, buses, thinking about the positive things, I understand that the country has grown. The population ended up becoming more interested in the guidelines that the government decides. So, today, many times the amendment of an environmental law is being voted on, the government is more careful with the repercussions. Let’s assume, there is an increase in fares, the mayor or governor will carry out a larger study to find out if it is really necessary. So I believe it has brought more responsibility to the rulers and greater interest to the population.

This situation marked the beginning of a certain politicization of the police, which greatly increased the number of police candidates. Did you see an increase in the politicization of the police after June? Regarding political issues, there are always those police officers who are invited to participate, being a candidate for a political party. These demonstrations, as some stood out in the opinion of the population in a positive way, ended up being invited and accepted. Many ended up winning elections, being re-elected.