EXECUTIONS

78threatening them with a .38 caliber revolver. The driver, fare-collector, andsome passengers managed to flee, but ten passengers remained captive.The police already on the scene called on the Twenty-thirdBattalion from the Leblon neighborhood, forces from the SpecialOperations Battalion (BOPE) and the Second Battalion in Botafogo, andfrom Special Mobile Tactical Squad for reinforcement. Authoritiesblocked traffic and set up a barrier to keep journalists, among others, atleast twenty meters from the bus. The incident was broadcast live andreceived vast national and international media coverage.Cel. José Penteado of BOPE conducted the negotiations with thehelp of Cel. Luís Soares de Oliveria of the Twenty-third Military PoliceBatalion. In the course of four hours of negotiation and standoff,Nascimento released three hostages. Nascimento's discussions with thepolice were especially tense. He repeatedly threatened to kill the hostagesand even simulated the murder of one of them. He also hung shirts over thewindows and used the fire extinguisher to reduce his visibility.Around 6:50 p.m., Nascimento exited the bus, using one of thehostages as a shield. Pointing a gun at the head of Geísa Firmo Gonçalves,20, Nascimento negotiated with Sub-Commander Maj. FernandoPríncipe. At this point, Marcelo Oliveira dos Santos, a police officersquatting in front of the bus, abruptly closed in on Nascimento from theright side and fired two shots. As verified later by the forensic report,neither shot hit Nascimento, who reacted by shooting Gonçalves threetimes. The hostage was severely injured and died shortly thereafter inMiguel Couto Hospital. Police forced Sandro Nascimento, who had fallento the ground, into a paddy wagon, and took to Souza Aguiar Hospital indowntown Rio de Janeiro.As the images of the incident clearly show, Sandro Nascimentoentered the BOPE van alive and well. According to the Legal MedicalInstitute's forensic report, BOPE snipers did not hit Nascimento, whosephysical state was at no time compromised before entering the police van.Although the police report accompanying Nascimento's body to theautopsy affirmed that he had sustained a bullet wound, the official autopsyconcluded that no bullet wounds were present. The autopsy determinedthe cause of death to be "mechanic asphyxiation brought about by theconstriction of the neck." The forensic report indicates evident signs ofasphyxiation, such as intense venial congestion and dark blood (bruising),which confirm that police strangled Nascimento to death inside the police