Brothers die after police chase in Sorocaba; family disputes PM's version

Pablo Rikman Fernandes Oliveira, 27, and Diogo Henrique Fernandes Rosa, 24, were in a car on Avenida Dom Aguirre when, according to the police report, they violated an order to stop a Military Police vehicle.

The brothers' wake began in the early hours of the morning, around 2:30 am, at Ossel Vila Assis. Pablo's body was scheduled to be buried at 9:30 am, while Diogo's was scheduled to be buried at 10:30 am.

In the PM's version, Pablo made several dangerous maneuvers, and the escape ended when the young man lost control of the steering wheel and crashed the vehicle. According to police, after the crash, the brothers remained in the car and refused to surrender.

In addition to the brothers, a 20-year-old girl, cousin of Pablo and Diogo, was also in the vehicle at the time of the police chase. According to the agents' report, the young woman had left the car after the crash and, at that moment, the brothers made threats with firearms towards the vehicle.

As a result, the police reacted and shot at the car. Pablo did not survive his injuries and died at the scene. Diogo was rescued alive by an ambulance, but died shortly after being admitted to the Sorocaba Hospital Center (CHS).

Pablo and Diogo's family questions the PM's version and claims that the young people were not armed. The cousin who was at the time of the police action also questioned the versions recorded in the official statements.

According to the police report, initially the brothers' cousin told the police that the young men used to carry guns because their father was the victim of a homicide. However, in her formal statement at the police station, she disputes this story and the version presented by the police, stating that they did not have time to get out of the car during the approach and that they were not armed.

In an interview with TV TEM, the young woman reinforced the defense that Pablo and Diogo did not have weapons. According to the witness, initially, the group did not realize that the police order was for them. However, shortly after the first sign of the police car, the young people were frightened by the police officers shouting at them to get out of the vehicle and so they sped off in the car.

"We only heard the sound of the siren, so much so that I thought they were trying to overtake. Then when we heard that it was us, to stop, we stopped at the light. But as they started shouting 'get out of the car', we ended up speeding up again", he says.

"As soon as we hit the pole and the wall, I grabbed it and opened the door. I expected them to come out too, but I opened the door and threw myself in, because I was a little hurt and stunned. By then the shots were already happening and I thought they were going to stop. I screamed, I asked, I said 'stop, please! They don't have anything', but they didn't listen. They just asked me to move away at the moment, so I wouldn't see what was happening. They didn't have a chance at anything", she says.

Civil Police expertise should help clarify whether there was an exchange of gunfire during the chase. g1 questioned the Military Police to find out whether there would be an internal investigation to investigate the conduct of the military police officers, but received no response until the last update of this report.