Megaoperation in Rio: 17% of police officers removed body cameras in action
A survey carried out by the MPRJ (Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro) shows that at least 17.6% of the police officers from BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion), who worked in the October 2025 Containment Megaoperation in the Alemão and Penha complexes, removed their body cameras during the action.
The operation in the north of Rio on October 28 last year left 122 dead, including five police officers and 117 civilians. The day after the action, Complexo da Penha woke up with dozens of bodies lying on a street in the community.
The survey was requested by the STF (Supreme Federal Court) within the scope of the ADPF (Arguição de Descomprimento de Preceito Fundamental) das Favelas, which seeks to reduce police lethality in communities in Rio de Janeiro.
After the operation, the Supreme Court requested that all images from the body cameras of civil and military police officers be sent to the files, along with a list of agents who used cameras on the day of the action.
The action is part of a State Government initiative to combat the territorial expansion of the CV (Comando Vermelho) and arrest criminal leaders operating in Rio and other states. Around 2,500 agents from the state security forces were mobilized.
According to the survey, in addition to the 17.6% who removed their cameras, another 7.8% intentionally obstructed the images. The assessment made by MPRJ analyzed the images captured by 51 Bope agents.
The Public Prosecutor's Office declared that the report is preliminary, as it was not possible to analyze all of the approximately 3,600 hours of recording of the total personnel. Therefore, the body is still unable to indicate to the STF which specific excerpts from the recordings are relevant.
In addition, the document mentions that the analysis of the material still depends on crossing the images with other elements of the investigation, such as expert reports, operational documents and statements from the agents involved.
Also according to the Public Ministry, injured people appeared in 11.8% of the videos examined and, in all of these episodes, aid was provided. The agency also claims to have found specific signs of potentially inappropriate conduct in 2% of cases.
In parallel with the analysis of the images, the Public Ministry has been listening to agents who participated in armed clashes during the operation.
According to the document, 200 military police officers fired firearms on the date of the action. As of April this year, 204 agents had already given statements, with only 14 pending hearings remaining.
CNN Brasil requested a note from the Government of Rio de Janeiro regarding the MPRJ survey and is awaiting a response. The space is open.
Source: CNN