The Catholic Church raises its voice against the spate of deaths at the hands of the police

The Catholic Church has echoed the latest events linked to the deaths of alleged criminals killed by police authorities under the justification that they were killed for “confronting a police patrol with gunfire”.

The dozens of deaths reported across the country of these alleged antisocial elements prompted the coadjutor archbishop of Santo Domingo, Monsignor Carlos Tomás Morel Diplán, to call on the authorities regarding these exchanges of gunfire in which the main protagonists are young people and police officers.

Diplan expressed his regret for what is happening in Dominican society, for the number of young people who have died and for the violence that is being experienced.

He explained that what is happening cannot be combated by taking a human life and called on Dominican authorities to prevent it, “educate society, the State also educate, train to prevent.”

“Today we deeply regret the number of young people who have died, families who are suffering; although there are people who are happy, they think that this will be resolved,” the archbishop added.

He said that by implementing good policies, they can prevent these young people from falling into the hands of crime.

Furthermore, Morel Diplán explained that he understands the Government is concerned about what is happening, “because every event that occurs falls on the Government and those in charge,” but he said a plan for coordination, guidance, and, above all, awareness must be developed to prevent further violence.

He called for more jobs and opportunities. But he also emphasized the need to combat corruption, “because there have been very bad examples of people who should be role models for young people, and unfortunately, they haven’t been.”

He said that this culture of corruption and theft that has occurred in certain “spheres of society” also sends a bad message to young people and a signal indicating that everything is permitted and that, “if these things had been corrected in time, today they would not have so many problems in society.”

Deaths at the hands of the police

Since the case of Michael Junior Rodríguez Peguero, better known as “Michael Peluche”, who died after his involvement in the death of urban artist Diddy Glow, became known, Dominican society has focused its attention on the movements of the National Police related to death reports.

For its part, the police entity has also been highlighting in its reports the voluntary surrender of alleged criminals with outstanding arrest warrants.

To date, the list records 53,877 warrants, including both outstanding arrest warrants and warrants for the photo capture of suspected criminals. This figure does not represent the number of people, but the number of warrants, as a single individual may have multiple outstanding warrants.

The data provided by the National Police details 17,635 cases of domestic violence, 11,587 robberies, 5,951 physical assaults, 4,018 sexual assaults, 2,761 cybercrimes, 2,681 homicides, 1,630 threats, and other categories.

After releasing this information, the National Police issued several reports detailing the voluntary surrender of various individuals. Among them were José Luis Lara, alias “Kimkon,” 21; Ronny Nolasco Ibert, alias “Cañoso,” 22; and Maiky Contreras García, 30, whom family members and legal representatives presented to authorities in San Juan de la Maguana.