Duque ordered the Police a detailed report on actions during protests in Bogotá

A detailed report on the actions of the National Police agents during the protests on September 9, 10 and 11 in Bogotá, ordered this Saturday the President of the Republic, Iván Duque.

The document is part of the investigation carried out by the Government on the complaints of the use of force and the use of firearms by the public force in the midst of the disturbances generated after the demonstrations for the murder of the engineer and law student Javier Ordonez.

“The investigations corresponding to what were fatal situations presented in recent days are being carried out, where what we want is to clarify, not only with speed, but also that all organizations can present an unequivocal voice to the nation,” he said in a wheel press the president.

He added that they are “exhaustively conducting, with our National Police, a review of what has been the use of firearms, in such a way that as there is traceability in each of these uses, we know precisely if they have any concatenation with some other facts. “

To accompany the investigation, Duque commissioned the Counselor for Human Rights and International Affairs, Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez, and the Counselor for National Security, Rafael Guarín.

As reported from the Casa de Nariño, the counselors will be in charge of receiving and evaluating the information about what happened “in light of the legal framework of the use of force, the international instruments for the protection of human rights and the current Police protocols. National”.

Hours before, the Minister of Defense, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, had already anticipated that the Government will have this report “very soon” and assured that the internal investigations by the Police are underway, regarding the different reports on the possible participation of police officers in violations of the law and the use of firearms.

Also read: “Investigation on the use of weapons by police officers in protests is progressing”: Ministry of Defense

Ombudsman will accompany reform to the Police

Duque also announced this Saturday that he asked the Ombudsman’s Office to accompany him in the transformation process of the National Police.

“We have asked, obviously in the independence of the function that the Ombudsman performs, but also within the framework of the constitutional principle of harmonious collaboration between powers, to ask the Ombudsman to accompany us to give us their independent voice on various issues”, indicated the Head of State, after meeting with the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo.

The first issue, the president explained, has to do with transparency in citizen surveillance protocols.

“We have a National Police that carries out more than 30 million police procedures a year and, obviously, these procedures have been increasingly applied with greater rigor, but, of course, there will always be risks where situations arise that do not respond or to the conduct or the honor of the institution, “he added.

The second issue is related to the institutional protocols to bring the Police closer to the citizens, as well as to facilitate and promote dialogue and permanent collaboration between citizens and the Police.

Finally, the Ombudsman’s Office will give its opinion on issues related to transparency in the use of force, in the development of the competencies of the service and the development of protocols related to citizen complaints.

Duque recalled that the process “of transformation and modernization of the police service to citizens” has been working for several months and is part of the Security and Citizen Coexistence Policy of his Government.

“We started this process more than 10 months ago, we want to accelerate it, it is part of a medium-term institutional plan and, we consider that its central axis is increasingly seeking a rigorous adherence to that all procedures are hand in hand with the highest standards for the protection of human rights “, he stressed.

Rejection of violence

The president took the opportunity to reject the violent events that occurred in recent days. “Here there is only one univocal and institutional voice of rejection of these acts of violence,” he said.

The Head of State indicated that the case of Javier Ordóñez is being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office and that investigations into the complaints of excessive use of force by the Police are also progressing.

“These acts of violence that we have seen in recent days have to lead us all to reject it categorically, to categorically reject behaviors that dishonor the uniform of the Public Force, to reject acts of vandalism and violence that were premeditated and organized against security infrastructure at the service of the citizenry and against members of the Public Force, “he stressed.

Also read: Supreme Court rejects violent acts in protests in the case of Javier Ordóñez