Shocking footage shows the moment a police officer is set on fire by protesters in Mexico amid violent clashes over the death of a man who died after he was beaten and taken into custody.
Protesters took to the streets Guadalajara, the nation’s second-largest city, on Thursday and called for authorities to be held responsible for the death of Giovanni López.
Lopez was declared dead at a local hospital following an altercation with the police, reportedly because he was not wearing a face mask amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Video from Thursday’s demonstration shows the moment a police officer turns away from protesters and got on a motorcycle, before a man is seen dousing him in liquid and setting him on fire.
Three members of the Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos Municipal Police Department have been arrested, including the police chief, Jalisco state prosecutor Octavio Solís announced Friday.
Governor Enrique Alfaro said the state had assumed control of the municipality’s police force and that its officers would be undergoing further training. Alfaro said that any of the cops who don’t meet policing standards will be subject to dismissal.
A police officer in Guadalajara was set on fire by a protester Thursday during clashes in Mexico’s second-largest city
A man dumps an inflammable liquid over a police officer before he set him on fire Thursday in Guadalajara, Mexico, where protesters took to the streets demanding action a day after a video went viral showing the moment Giovanni López was beaten by cops in Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos on May 4 and died the following day
DailyMail.com reached to the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office and the police department seeking comment on the condition of the attacked police officer.
Protesters descended on the historic center of Guadalajara, Jalisco’s capital, and vandalized building, including the palace.
Several police cruisers were set ablaze. Video also showed one of the protesters taking possession of a law enforcement agent’s rifle before tossing it into a burning vehicle.
Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro responded in a video message late on Thursday and denied López had been held for not using a face mask, but gave no further details.
Alfaro said six police officers were injured, including the one set on fire, with 27 protesters detained. He promised an investigation and condemned the violence, which he described as having been ‘never before seen’.
Giovanni López was detained in Jalisco, Mexico, by the police for not wearing a face mask on May 4 and was beaten, an incident which was captured on video. He died the following as a result of a brain injury but his aunt discovered he had multiple body bruises when she opened a body bag with his remains. The Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating
Police officers come to the aid of a cop after he was set ablaze by a demonstrator in Guadalajara, a city in the western Mexican state of Jalisco
Demonstrators smash a door during a protest following the May 5 death of a Giovanni López while in police custody, after he had been arrested allegedly for failing to comply with measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19
The unrest took place two days after Christian López went public with footage that showed his 30-year-old brother being placed in a choke hold by a police officer on May 4 in the Jalisco municipality of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos.
Giovanni López was subdued by cops, who shoved him into the back of a department pickup truck. He was taken to a local precinct where he was allegedly beaten.
That same night, his family contacted Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos mayor Eduardo Cervantes, who promised that López would be released from custody at 10am. However, when they arrive to pick him up, they were informed that he had been transported to a hospital.
DailyMail.com reached out to the Jalisco state prosecutors’s office regarding the status of the cop (pictured) who was set on fire by protesters in Guadalajara on Thursday
Demonstrators in Guadalajara attack a police vehicle during Thursday’s protest
A burning police vehicle is seen after demonstrators set it on fire during a protest to demand justice for Giovanni López, a construction worker who died after being arrested for not wearing a face mask in public
A police officer clashes with demonstrators during a protest in Guadalajara, Mexico, to demand justice for Giovanni López
López, a construction worker, was declared dead at 10pm due to a brain injury.
However, during an argument with morgue workers, López’s aunt went against their advice and unzipped the body bag where her nephew’s remains were placed and noticed that he had been tortured, according to LatinUS.
The aunt also said López was shot near the ankle, but the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office said her claims were not true.
According to Christian López, mayor Cervantes offered him $9,000, or 200,000 Mexican pesos, to keep the footage under wraps.
Cervantes, who said Giovanni López had threatened to fight National Guard servicemen before he was detained, denied the accusations on Wednesday.
‘At no time did I offer 200,000 pesos or any amount in exchange for the silence of the family members, nor did I threaten them,’ Cervantes said. ‘On the contrary, from the beginning and until today I have instructed my municipal agencies to provide all the information to the State Prosecutor’s Office.
‘In my municipal government we do not tolerate police brutality, abuse of authority, and much less serious violations of human rights, such as deprivation of life,’ he added.
Cervantes is expected to appear before prosecutors for questioning Friday.
Mexico’s deputy minister for human rights requested case files from authorities in Jalisco and Baja California, where there may have been a similar incident at a Tijuana gas station on March 27.
Video went viral in which a police officer is seen pressing his foot on the neck of a handcuffed Oliver López – of no relation to Giovanni López – for 90 seconds before he died.
The police received reports of Oliver López hurling rocks at customers.
Another cop pinned his knee on López’s legs while he pressed down his restrained hands. Moments later, a cop attempted to revive López while performing chest compressions.
The cop, who placed his foot on López’s neck, and the second law enforcement agent, who held him down against the ground, have been suspended pending an investigation.
The Tijuana occurred two months before George Floyd, a black man, was killed in a similar hold in Minneapolis.
Floyd (pictured), 46, died shortly after Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes
Floyd was killed in Minnesota after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, placed his knee over the side of Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed and lying face down on May 25.
Video of the incident also showed two other cops kneeling over Floyd’s body as he said ‘I can’t breathe’ and called for his mother after the police had arrested him for allegedly using a fake $20 bill at a deli.
Chauvin and the three other officers – Tou Thao, Thomas K. Lane and J. Alexander Kueng – who were at the scene were fired.
Chauvin has been charged with second degree murder, third degree murder and third degree manslaughter
Thao, Lane and Kueng were each charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter.