By Oliver Griffin
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Protests against police brutality in Colombia, which have rocked capital Bogota and satellite city Soacha for two nights, have left eleven dead and hundreds injured, the government said early on Friday.
Demonstrators have taken to the streets for two consecutive nights to protest the death on Wednesday of Javier Ordonez, 46. A widely-shared video filmed by Ordonez’s friend showed the father of two being repeatedly shocked with a stun gun by police. He died later in a hospital.
Seven people aged between 17 and 27 years old died after being shot in Bogota during protests on Wednesday, according to the mayor’s office, while the national government says three were killed the same night in Soacha.
Family members of some of the Bogota victims told local media their loved ones had not been participating in the protests.
Another woman was killed in Bogota on Thursday as protests continued. She was hit by a stolen public transport vehicle, local and national officials said.
More than 200 civilians and 194 police officers have been injured during the clashes, according to the national government.
The video of Ordonez shows him pinned to the ground by police officers and subjected to successive electric shocks early on Wednesday as he begs, “please, no more.”
Police say Ordonez was found drinking alcohol in the street with friends, in violation of coronavirus distancing rules. He was taken to a police station in western Bogota which has become a focal point of protests, and later died in hospital.
Two police officers have been suspended pending an investigation of the death of Ordonez. A further five have been suspended for alleged abuses during the protests.
Ordonez’s death could fuel renewed outrage against the police, who were widely criticized last year after a teenage protester was fatally injured by a riot squad projectile.
(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Additional reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
