Rio de Janeiro, Dec 15 (IANS/EFE) Dozens of police officers and victims of crime took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday to protest crime, with officers using the march to draw attention to the murders of 80 law enforcement agents since January.
The protest took place on Copacabana beach, one of the main tourist destinations in the city, where marchers planted 80 crosses with photographs of the officers killed both in the line of duty and off duty.
Members of the non-governmental Rio de Paz organisation, which has been protesting against crime in the city for years, also took part in the demonstration in Rio de Janeiro, which is gearing up to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The protest was organised after two off-duty police officers were murdered last week in Rio.
Officer Ari Rodrigues Pestana Junior, a member of the military police, was gunned down outside his house Friday.
The officer was washing his car when a group of gunmen riding in a vehicle opened fire on him, officials said.
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Officer Adelson Conceição Junior, another military police member, was gunned down Wednesday while heading with his wife and daughter to a shopping centre.
--IANS/EFE
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