BBC Online :
At least five people have been killed in protests in Colombia as outrage spreads over the death of a man who was pinned to the ground and repeatedly tasered by police in Bogotá.
Video of the incident shows 46-year-old Javier Ordóñez begging the officers to stop and telling them “I am choking”.
The officers were arresting him for allegedly breaking social distancing rules by drinking with friends.
He was taken to a police station and later moved to hospital, where he died.
At least five people have died in the protests in the capital, Bogotá, and scores more have been injured, according to official police figures. Thirty police officers are among those injured.
The protests were centred on the neighbourhood of Engativá, where police arrested Mr Ordóñez.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with officers outside the police post where Mr Ordóñez was held. More than 40 such posts, small police stations dotted across the city which often consist of only one room, were attacked and 17 were burnt down.
There were also protests in Soacha, south of Bogotá, in Colombia’s second biggest city, Medellín, and in the city of Pereira. More than 70 vehicles were damaged, among them nine public buses, which were set alight.
Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said 1,600 extra police would be deployed to Bogotá to tackle the protests.
The protests broke out after video emerged of the arrest in the early hours of Wednesday of Javier Ordóñez in Engativá.
People protest outside a police station after a man, who was detained for violating social distancing rules, died from being repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by officers, according to authorities, in Bogota, Colombia September 9, 2020.image copyrightReuters
image captionProtesters targeted the police post where Javier Ordóñez was taken
The video shows Mr Ordóñez pinned to the ground by two police officers in a residential street.
One of the officers repeatedly uses his taser on Mr Ordóñez, who can be heard saying “enough please, enough, no more, please” and “I’m choking”.
The officers continue to kneel on Mr Ordóñez and continue to use the taser.
The person who is recording the incident on his phone, can also be heard pleading with the officers. “He’s telling you ‘please’, we’re recording you, don’t continue… why do you continue harming him if he’s said ‘please’?,” the man recording the video says.
The last thing the video shows is a third officer arriving.
Mr Ordóñez was taken to a local police post and was already unconscious by the time his friend arrived at the post to ask for him.
At least five people have been killed in protests in Colombia as outrage spreads over the death of a man who was pinned to the ground and repeatedly tasered by police in Bogotá.
Video of the incident shows 46-year-old Javier Ordóñez begging the officers to stop and telling them “I am choking”.
The officers were arresting him for allegedly breaking social distancing rules by drinking with friends.
He was taken to a police station and later moved to hospital, where he died.
At least five people have died in the protests in the capital, Bogotá, and scores more have been injured, according to official police figures. Thirty police officers are among those injured.
The protests were centred on the neighbourhood of Engativá, where police arrested Mr Ordóñez.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with officers outside the police post where Mr Ordóñez was held. More than 40 such posts, small police stations dotted across the city which often consist of only one room, were attacked and 17 were burnt down.
There were also protests in Soacha, south of Bogotá, in Colombia’s second biggest city, Medellín, and in the city of Pereira. More than 70 vehicles were damaged, among them nine public buses, which were set alight.
Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said 1,600 extra police would be deployed to Bogotá to tackle the protests.
The protests broke out after video emerged of the arrest in the early hours of Wednesday of Javier Ordóñez in Engativá.
People protest outside a police station after a man, who was detained for violating social distancing rules, died from being repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by officers, according to authorities, in Bogota, Colombia September 9, 2020.image copyrightReuters
image captionProtesters targeted the police post where Javier Ordóñez was taken
The video shows Mr Ordóñez pinned to the ground by two police officers in a residential street.
One of the officers repeatedly uses his taser on Mr Ordóñez, who can be heard saying “enough please, enough, no more, please” and “I’m choking”.
The officers continue to kneel on Mr Ordóñez and continue to use the taser.
The person who is recording the incident on his phone, can also be heard pleading with the officers. “He’s telling you ‘please’, we’re recording you, don’t continue… why do you continue harming him if he’s said ‘please’?,” the man recording the video says.
The last thing the video shows is a third officer arriving.
Mr Ordóñez was taken to a local police post and was already unconscious by the time his friend arrived at the post to ask for him.
