STF judges compensation for death caused by stray bullet in police operations

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) resumed this Friday (1st) the judgment of an appeal that discusses the State’s responsibility to compensate for the death of victims of gunshots during police or military operations when the expertise that determines the origin of the shot is inconclusive.

The case in question refers to the death of Vanderlei Conceição de Albuquerque, aged 34, in June 2015, during a shootout in the community of Manguinhos, in Rio de Janeiro.

The reporting minister, Edson Fachin, voted in favor of obliging the Rio de Janeiro and Federal governments to compensate the victim’s family. He proposed compensation of R$300,000, R$200,000 for the parents and R$100,000 for the brother, in addition to reimbursement for funeral expenses and a lifetime pension.

The shooting involved residents, Army soldiers and military police, and Vanderlei was hit by a firearm projectile inside the house. The family filed a lawsuit against the Union and the State, but the claim for compensation was dismissed in the first instance and subsequently maintained by the TRF of the 2nd Region due to the lack of proof regarding the origin of the shot that caused the death.

However, for Minister Fachin, the absence of a clear expert conclusion about who was responsible for the shooting does not exempt the State from its responsibility. He argued that, given the context of the Army’s operation in the community, the State should be held responsible for the outcome, regardless of whether the projectile came from the military or other sources during the shooting.

“Based on the report prepared by the Civil Police, it is clear that the Army military operation triggered the exchange of fire. If the incursion by the Army Pacification Force had not occurred, there would have been no exchange of fire and, therefore, Vanderlei Conceição de Albuquerque would not have been murdered,” said Fachin.

He highlighted that the State’s responsibility is clear when there is a lack of conclusive expertise that rules out the causal link between the operation and the death of civilians. The trial at the STF continues, with the expectation that the decision may have a significant impact on the jurisprudence on the State’s responsibility in similar cases.