RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Human Rights Watch says that a pattern of covering up police killings has thwarted efforts to curb violence in Rio de Janeiro's slums ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil.
A report released on Thursday says many of the victims killed by police in recent years were unarmed, in custody or trying to flee. Authorities have said that in most cases the police had come under attack.
Police killings have increased in the past three years in Rio de Janeiro state, with 644 people killed in officer-involved shootings in 2015, compared to 416 in 2013.
The New York-based rights group interviewed officers who detailed how they covered up killings. The 109-page report reviews 64 cases, many of which show inconsistencies between forensic evidence and officials' accounts.
