First Responders II: Intelligence, Forensics, and Investigative Officers
In: Terrorist Suicide Bombings, S. 241-256
In: Terrorist Suicide Bombings, S. 241-256
An exploration of state violence in Brazil draws on interviews conducted in 1993 with 14 police officers who had engaged in torture &/or murder during Brazil's military period, including Sergio, a Sao Paulo official whose four decades of police service covered years in intelligence. The various branches of Brazil's civil & military police forces are described. Sergio's emphatic denial of personally carrying out torture & his contention that the bad behavior of police officers can be controlled by rational officials illustrates the complex moral assumptions involved. He justified torture carried out under his command by suggesting that it was acceptable if it was controlled by a competent police official &/or performed for a "just cause," such as saving a child's life. Four key explanations came out in interviewee accounts of torture in which they participated: diffusing responsibility to other official bodies; blaming victims or perpetrators; citing just causes for the actions; & citing professional imperatives. The relationship of discursive content to societal conditions is discussed. Excerpts from the interviews are included. 1 Table. J. Lindroth
An exploration of state violence in Brazil draws on interviews conducted in 1993 with 14 police officers who had engaged in torture &/or murder during Brazil's military period, including Sergio, a Sao Paulo official whose four decades of police service covered years in intelligence. The various branches of Brazil's civil & military police forces are described. Sergio's emphatic denial of personally carrying out torture & his contention that the bad behavior of police officers can be controlled by rational officials illustrates the complex moral assumptions involved. He justified torture carried out under his command by suggesting that it was acceptable if it was controlled by a competent police official &/or performed for a "just cause," such as saving a child's life. Four key explanations came out in interviewee accounts of torture in which they participated: diffusing responsibility to other official bodies; blaming victims or perpetrators; citing just causes for the actions; & citing professional imperatives. The relationship of discursive content to societal conditions is discussed. Excerpts from the interviews are included. 1 Table. J. Lindroth