QUESTION 1 (10 points):
The logo on the left belongs to what?
A) An anarchist armed organization in Nikaragua.
B) My heavy metal band in high school.
C) Elite special forces in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
D) None.
ɔ :ɹǝʍsuɐ
Well, weird isn’t it? I wasn’t aware of BOPE – Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (Special Police Operations Battalion) till I watched Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad) last Sunday..
This elite force unit is founded in 1978 in the state of Rio de Janeiro for one reason: fighting with the crime in the favelas of Rio. You’ll say, why is that? Don’t they have some regular police organization there? Yes, they have.. but there are many neighborhoods, full of criminals armed with the heaviest machine guns and artillery, (probably) not willing to see any cop around. Some favelas and crime bases are at the peaks of hills, not reachable any conventional police vehicle, and so on. So there’s a need of a special force, that has been trained as a commando, trained under the craziest and hardest conditions.
Their policy is “shoot to kill”, which means that they kill the suspect without any questioning if human life is in danger. They are famous for being ruthless against crime, and also receiving criticisms from several organizations, such as Amnesty International, regarding the excessive amount of violence they use.
It’s easy to spot them with their all-black uniform, whereas the regular police units wear blue.
Forgot to mention about the movie, Tropa de Elite… It’s a must-watch.. based on a true story about the crime in Rio. The story captures even from the first minute. Soundtracks are perfect. There are some kind of brutal scenes, so be aware.
The next movie (or I must say documentary) that I’ll watch.. which is also about BOPE and crime in Rio is, Bus 147.
