Police in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro are facing a credibility crisis after five officers were filmed forging a crime scene in order to escape punishment, the media reported.
The officers were caught on Tuesday by Morro da Providencia slum residents manipulating the crime scene in the killing of a 17-year-old boy, Eduardo Felipe Santos Victor, Xinhua news agency reported.
In the video, the officers put a gun in the hands of the dying teenager and then shot from it twice to ensure that traces of gunpowder would be found on his hands to prove that he had shot at the police. Finally, they placed the gun besides Victor's body.
In their initial report, the officers said they were attacked by the boy whereupon they returned fire.
The officers were arrested and accused of killing the boy, who, eyewitnesses said, had surrendered without resistance.
Many deaths involving police officers are registered as acts of resistance from suspects.
However, human rights organisations allege that in a number of cases, police officers faked evidence to pretend they were attacked first.
