precautions to see whether they were armed. The declarant ran to the sidewalk with the more
robust of the two men, who had dark skin and was bald, while the driver, that is to say Corporal
(Cabo 1ro) Lezcano, stayed with the other detainee. After ascertaining that his detainee was
not armed, the declarant questioned him about his particulars [...]. After being notified of what
was happening, Deputy Inspector Aguilar, told the deponent to check over the radio whether
the detainee was subject to any kind of restraining order. To that end, the deponent went to
patrol car 305 and did as told, and found out there was no such order (diligencia negativa). At
that point he, the deponent, was ordered to put the detainee into the patrol car, at which point
the detainee became aggressive and shouted that YOU ALWAYS HAVE IT IN FOR BLACKS, and
was extremely annoyed that police personnel had withheld his papers.27
36.
For his part, Corporal González Alfredo, one of the policemen who had detained Messrs. Da
Luz and Acosta, declared regarding the latter:
[...] he was searched on top of his clothes, whereby nothing criminal was found, and after that
it was ascertained over the radio that the individual was not subject to any restraining order,
given that he continued to be extremely upset by the police presence, the officer in charge took
the decision to put him into the patrol car and take him to the police station [...].28
37.
The Commission notes that, in the testimony provided by Romina Bairo and Analia Masello on
April 8, 1996, the former stated that "they wanted to put him [José Acosta] in the patrol car. At that point he
began to shout and to struggle to avoid being put into the patrol car [...]". 29 For her part, Masello said that
"[Acosta] got out of the patrol car and was upset, then several policemen, she did not know how many, forced
him into the car."30
38.
Mrs. Bárbara McGuire declared that "the patrol cars stopped next to the bar and some four
officers got out. They went up to one of the Brazilians and one of the officers with a gun in one hand began
searching him. At that point, Acosta intervened, saying that he was a Uruguayan citizen [...]. One of the police
officers asked him for his I.D. and then immediately tossed it on the ground. The Uruguayan asked him to pick
it up and return it to him, which the officer did."31 The statement by Verónica Brotzman emphasizes that "at
some point José said 'I am a Uruguayan, they are Brazilians who came to dance and you should leave them in
peace." He said it not in an authoritarian way but in a conciliatory tone [...]. Marcelo, his brother, got frightened
and began to shout at the police, in response to which they took him too and put him in the patrol car [...]. She
said she could distinguish two phases: before and after the detention. In the first he was not upset, but in the
second he was, but because of the detention itself and the incident with his I.D."32 Regarding his state of mind,
"McGuire asserted that he was normal and cheerful and was not being incoherent, while Brotzman reporting
that he looked normal."33
39.
In testimony given on April 5, 1996, Inspector Claudio Oscar Cervera, who was at the police
station at the time, stated that:
[...] the aforementioned detainee first [identified himself? illegible] as José DELFIN ACOSTA,
an Uruguayan national, of 32 years of age [...] He was under the influence of [illegible] alcohol
or some other addictive substance because of the abnormal and aggressive [way he was
behaving? illegible] [...] For that reason he ordered the guard on duty to enter his name in the
Detainee Register, accused of the misdemeanors of "DRUNKENNESS AND OTHER
INTOXICATIONS, Article [illegible], Section One, and DISORDERLY CONDUCT, Article 1.b [...}
Detainee ACOSTA's behavior was extremely aggressive from the moment he entered the
Appendix 13. Statement by Sergeant Domingo Alberto Oliva on April 5, 1996. Attached to the initial petition.
Appendix 14. Statement by Corporal Alfredo González on April 5, 1996. Attached to the initial petition.
29 Appendix 3. Statement by Romina Bairo on April 8, 1996. Attached to the initial petition.
30 Appendix 5. Statement by Analía Masello on April 08, 1996. Attached to the initial petition.
31 Appendix 15. Statement by Bárbara McGuire on April 24, 1996. Attached to the initial petition.
32 Appendix 16. Statement by Verónica Brotzman on April 24, 1996. Attached to the initial petition.
33 Appendix 17. Minutes in the file of April 25, 1966. Attached to the initial petition.
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