STF analyzes whether “police were racist” when approaching a black man with drugs

The ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) began the trial of a habeas corpus filed in favor of a man convicted of the crime of drug trafficking. The Court will have to decide whether the principle of insignificance is applicable due to the amount of drug seized, 1.53 grams of cocaine, and whether or not the evidence in this case will be considered invalid. The defense argues that they would have been harvested from a police approach based on “racial filtering”, since the man is black. The HC was filed by the Public Defender’s Office of the State of São Paulo and contests the judgment of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), in which the conviction for trafficking was upheld by a majority of votes.

The SP Public Defender’s Office and most entities accepted as amicus curiae – much of it related to the black movement and the area of ​​human rights – call for the man’s absolution. The arguments presented were that he would have been approached by the police because he was black and that the suspicion for the action was not evidenced. The entities also understand that the materiality of the crime of drug trafficking has not been proven, and that there would have been institutional racism on the part of the police forces. The trial at the STF was suspended this Wednesday (1st) and will resume on Thursday (2nd).

The Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, Lindôra Araújo, pointed out that there was no understanding that a crime of racism could have occurred on the part of police officers during the trial at the STJ and also that the thesis of the principle of insignificance should not be accepted. She pointed out that small drug dealers usually carry a small amount of cocaine, only the amount they intend to sell or deliver to users who buy the narcotics.

“Racism exists. We can’t say he doesn’t exist […] But we can’t forget that drugs are drugs. […] It is not because the person is black or white that he should be exempt for that”, said Lindôra. The deputy PGR’s understanding of the case is that the man was approached because the police knew that it was a drug sales point in Bauru, in the interior of São Paulo, and not because the man is black. Lindôra expressed her support for the decision of the STJ.

The HC rapporteur is Minister Edson Fachin. He and the other members of the Court will present the votes on Thursday (2).