In Peru, human rights advocates say police forces have been emboldened in part by a new âPolice Protection Lawâ passed in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic that backs officers who shoot on duty.
Peruâs new interim president Francisco Sagasti, a centrist who replaced Merino, has vowed there will be âno impunityâ for violent officers, and removed 18 senior police chiefs from duty in the wake of the protests, citing the need to âstrengthenâ the police.
No police officer has been charged or named as a potential suspect for actions relating to the protests.
Reuters TV footage filmed at the height of the protests in Lima showed how police fired tear gas without verbal warnings, aiming canisters either at body-height or at the sky, raising the risk of injury.