Police chief calls officer who killed child 'one of our best men,' citing shared responsibility

The chief of the Lima Norte Police Region, General Manuel Farias Zapata, has spoken out following a judicial decision to impose nine months of pre-trial detention on an officer investigated for the death of an 8-year-old boy. The child was killed by a service weapon discharge during a police intervention in Huacho.

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It is true, there has been negligence by the police officer, one of our best men whom we have lost because he should not have used the weapon.

Farias Zapata asserted that responsibility for the incident is shared. He pointed to the circumstances surrounding the event, including the overturning of the mototaxi carrying the child and his mother, and the officer's actions. The general described the officer, sub-official Luis Nazario, as "one of our best men," while also admitting that the officer should not have used his weapon.

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The question we ask ourselves is… what was a minor doing at that hour? Is there shared responsibility? Of course, because it is the exposure of a minor to danger and also on the part of the citizens who were intervened, both the driver and the one who resisted authority while intoxicated. We are strengthening investigations to see if the mom was also intoxicated because she was coming from a party.

According to Farias Zapata, the shot occurred as the officer drew his weapon to subdue individuals resisting arrest. He suggested that the mother might have been drinking and questioned why a minor was present in the vehicle at that late hour, implying shared responsibility due to the exposure of a minor to danger and the resistance of intoxicated individuals to police orders. The investigation is ongoing to determine if the mother was also under the influence of alcohol.

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He draws the weapon and, apparently, had it loaded. The shot goes off and hits the minor directly.