There were 360 deaths from shootouts between alleged criminal elements and the Police in 1994. These numbers were not included in the number of deaths by firearms in the National Police Report delivered to the Congress.
Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito has expressed concern for the number of shootout victims. While the numbers vary in the coverage in the different newspapers (Hoy says 300 and El Caribe mentions 360), the constant is that the AG is worried about a continuation of this extreme violence method of the police to fight crime. Dominguez Brito did acknowledge that in many cases police officers have found themselves in life-threatening situations and were obliged to fire their weapons. But the AG said there were times when the Police made mistakes.
The source of the information on the violent deaths by the police is included in the Human Rights in the Dominican Republic report released by the United States states that in spite of some improvements the results in this area have been “poor” during 2004. The Human Rights Report says that besides the deaths attributed to exchanges of fire between police and alleged criminals, the security forces of the Dominican Republic also committed illegal arrests and abuses of power, as in former years.
“Police, and to a lesser degree, the military, tortured, beat or at least abused suspects, detainees or prisoners,” according to the report. The Attorney General told reporters from Hoy that the report just points out the prompt need to professionalize the police force, especially its Internal Affairs Department.