Expert explains possible punishments for attackers of black couple at Carrefour

Adrisa De Góes – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – A new episode of assault involving employees of the Carrefour Group echoed in social networks this Sunday, 7, after a video of two black people being tortured and humiliated for having stolen packages of milk to surface. The content of the video, which contains psychological and physical aggressions, such as slaps and blows to the head, brought to the center of the debate the conduct applied by the company’s employees.

To CENARIUM, the lawyer specialized in Public Law, Luiz Gustavo Negro Vaz Júnior, pointed out the legal punishment to be applied in the new case of violence that occurred at Carrefour. He states that the attitude of the employees fits the crime of torture, provided in Law No. 9455/1997, in its article 1.

“It is another case of torture occurred by this supermarket chain. In this case, I realize that the security guards sought to take justice into their own hands. The right thing would be that it was made the proper referral so that, within the law, there was the proper accountability”, he says.

Read more: Black couple is beaten and humiliated for stealing milk in Salvador Carrefour

The law characterizes as torture: “I – To force someone with the use of violence or serious threat, causing him physical or mental suffering: a) in order to obtain information, statement or confession from the victim or third person; b) to provoke action or omission of a criminal nature; c) due to racial or religious discrimination.“

The lawyer also points out that the offense committed by the couple is of insignificant consequence, also understood in legal circles as the principle of bagatelle.

“The principle of insignificance or bagatelle is a legal principle, applied to criminal law, which aims to rule out the criminality of an offense committed. This means depriving an act that, if the law were taken literally, would be understood as a crime, but, because of its insignificant impact, it is deprived of its typicality, exempting the perpetrator from punishment”, explains the specialist.

Still according to Negro Vaz, the principle is not provided for in specific legislation, but it is used as a tool of Criminal Law, based on the jurisprudence originated around situations that fit it. It establishes that the Criminal Law should only be applied as a last resort, preventing the State from exercising punitive power over society.

“Thus, in view of what was proposed to me, bringing the case into the legislation in force, the crime of torture committed by the security guards is crystal clear, as well as the framing of the case of theft committed by the couple as a trifling or insignificant crime”, concludes the lawyer.

Read more: Even after crisis management, Carrefour keeps racial inequality in management positions, points out report

Loss prevention approach

The loss prevention agent Josué Gomes, who works in security solutions for about ten years in Manaus, says that the role of the professional area is restricted to the zeal with the property, in order to safeguard the welfare of employees and customers inside the establishment.

“The attitude, in this case [of Carrefour], is completely wrong. The agent is in charge of preventing eventual episodes of theft, in the sense of checking the movement of suspicious people and compliance with the establishment’s safety standards, in addition to watching over the physical assets of the location and employees”, he says.