Thousands rally in Lisbon against racism in policing

People shout slogans as they take part in a demonstration in Lisbon against police use of force and racism following a week of unrest sparked by the shooting of a black man by officers. – AFP

Thousands of people took to the main avenue of downtown Lisbon on yesterday to protest police violence, several days after a policeman shot a Cape Verde-born Portuguese resident, triggering a wave of unrest.
Rights group Vida Justa, which called the protest, changed the route to avoid clashes with supporters of the far-right anti-immigration party Chega, which held a separate smaller rally also in central Lisbon in support of the police.
Violence had broken out on the multi-ethnic outskirts of the capital after Monday’s shooting of Odair Moniz, a 43-year-old chef, in the Amadora suburb.
Police said that Odair Moniz was shot dead while trying to escape after attacking officers with a knife.
That account has since been called into question by several reports in the press.
The 20-year-old police officer who shot Moniz – twice – has since been charged with manslaughter, Portuguese media reported.
“Odair was a good father, someone who was appreciated by his whole community,” Luis Gomes, a 30-year-old at the protest who lives in the same neighbourhood as Moniz told AFP.
“We don’t judge people by the colour of their skin. I know it’s not easy for the police, but they need to be better prepared. No one has the right to kill anyone,” added Gomez, who works as a private security guard.
Jose Rosa, a 58-year-old from Cape Verde who has lived in Portugal since childhood, said he was “saddened by all this”.
“This is not the first time one of our young people has been killed and there is no justice,” he told AFP, while adding that he regretted the past week’s violence.
Demonstrators shouting “justice for Odair” carried posters bearing slogans such as “Stop killing us” and “Who to call when the killer is the police?”
Fabio Lima, 36, said “police violence is a common practice in our neighbourhoods”.
“The police, who are supposed to make us calm and safe, leave us anxious and scared. I’m much safer in my neighbourhood without the presence of the police … this is not a normal reaction,” he said.
Vida Justa said “violence and police impunity” must stop and people in the poorest suburbs cannot “be treated as non-citizens”.
Gabriela Ferreira, 42, said it was “important to demand justice, to be on the streets and show that we are not afraid”.
“There is discrimination and some infiltration in the police forces of people who are openly racist, who may even have some fascist or extreme right-wing political links,” she said.
Last year, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said it was concerned about excessive use of force by police in Portugal, particularly “against people of African descent”.