The office of the Ombudsman of the Dominican Republic has issued a report stressing that the recent highly publicized deaths of three young men in Police custody could have been avoided. The report is published at a time when the director general of the Police has not been available for questioning. Instead, the Minister of Interior & Police Jesus Vasquez and the new Commissioner of the Police Jose de Vila have been doing the rounds to tell of the government advances for police reform.
The deaths of young men in the custody of the Police that were reviewed were those of Richard Baez, 4 April 2022 in Santiago; Gregorio Custodia, 18 April 2022 in San Jose de Ocoa; and David de los Santos, 1 May 2022 in Santo Domingo.
The Ombudsman Office demands that the Superior Police Council urgently pass a new protocol for vulnerable persons in custody of the Police, especially those that suffer from mental conditions. The Ombudsman Office also calls for the public prosecutor office to supervise and accompany persons detained at the police detachments. The department also calls for the Police to issue instructions to improve transparency and effectiveness of disciplinary actions to correct and prevent similar actions in the future. Police commands need to instruct the agents of the mandate to comply with the rights of those under arrest. The Ombusman Office calls for citizens to denounce through all channels actions and omissions that put the lives of people under arrest in danger.
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Ombudsman Office
N Digital
Noticias SIN
Listin Diario
18 May 2022