Chilean policeman arrested for throwing a teenager from a bridge during demonstration

teenager thrown from a bridge

SANTIAGO, Oct 5 (NNN-TELESUR) — Chilean Attorney General’s Office ordered the arrest of a carabinero (Chilean police) who threw a 16-year-old boy into the Mapocho River from the PIo Nono Bridge, in Santiago, when military police were repressing a demonstration.

“The officer will face trial for the crime of attempted murder,” the North Central Prosecutor’s Office stated as it recalled that the young man attacked fell to an approximate height of seven meters.

After hours of investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office found that a Carabineros official pushed the 16-year-old boy, contrary to what police authorities tried to disclose. Shortly after the incident, they blamed the teenager for throwing himself off the bridge.

The officer was identified as Sebastian Zamora.  The minor suffered multiple injuries and had to undergo surgery for fractures to his wrists.

Following the incident, thousands of people took to the streets of the city to demand the resignation of the Carabineros’ General Director Mario Rozas, who has been the target of criticism for the violent repression of law enforcement agents during the protests that have shaken the country in the last year.

Many of the demonstrators positioned themselves outside of the Santa Maria Clinic, where the minor was taken with various injuries but without risk to his life.

This new day of protest comes three weeks before the holding of the plebiscite that will define the course of an eventual constitutional debate.

This day of protest also marks the prelude to what will be the first anniversary of the social explosion in Chile, October 18, 2019.

“The officer will face trial for the crime of attempted murder,” the North Central Prosecutor’s Office stated as it recalled that the young man attacked fell to an approximate height of seven meters.

After hours of investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office found that a Carabineros official pushed the 16-year-old boy, contrary to what police authorities tried to disclose. Shortly after the incident, they blamed the teenager for throwing himself off the bridge.

The officer was identified as Sebastian Zamora.  The minor suffered multiple injuries and had to undergo surgery for fractures to his wrists.

On Saturday, thousands of people took to the streets of the city to demand the resignation of the Carabineros’ General Director Mario Rozas, who has been the target of criticism for the violent repression of law enforcement agents during the protests that have shaken the country in the last year.

Many of the demonstrators positioned themselves outside of the Santa Maria Clinic, where the minor was taken with various injuries but without risk to his life.

This new day of protest comes three weeks before the holding of the plebiscite that will define the course of an eventual constitutional debate.

This day of protest also marks the prelude to what will be the first anniversary of the social explosion in Chile, Oct 18, 2019.