67.
According to the testimony of Police Captain Milton Patricio Ramírez, who arrived at the
scene in the company of a traffic patrolman, “[he] did not hear any shooting whatsoever,” and, with regard to
the positions of the two officers, he said that "they were lying prone in front of the door of the security
guard's quarters at a distance of approximately 30 meters.” He said that the policemen were shouting at Mr.
Valencia to surrender as he was surrounded and stated that when they noticed his presence, the policemen
said to him, "Captain, let’s go into the building because the policeman seems to be dead and that they had
heard a gunshot from inside the building.” He said that "a few minutes later the two officers proceeded to
enter the building and found Policeman Valencia's corpse.” However, at no point did he hear a gunshot, either
by the alleged victim or by the officers present. He stated that Second Lieutenant Cabezas had a Ruger rifle
and that Second Lieutenant Piedra had a Glock pistol, and that he also had his pistol; however, he did not
know which firearms were used to shoot at the building. He also said that the two officers who entered the
building had to make a bit of an effort to force open the door "and they immediately came out again, signaling
that Policemen Valencia was dead.” He repeated that at no point did he hear a gunshot discharged by any
party.36
68.
There are different accounts about how Luis Jorge Valencia Hinojosa met his death:
-
Luis Alciviades Valdiviezo37 said that a policeman “with a rifle was firing at the front while
the other one was doing so from the back." He observed "that the policeman with the white shirt with
a collar went into the place where the policeman was hiding, whereupon the shooting stopped,” He
clarified that the first to enter the security guard's quarters "was the policeman with the white shirt"
and that "the policeman with the rifle never went inside, but stayed next to the tennis club's wall.” He
specified that "when the policeman with the white shirt went inside, two shots were heard but he did
not see where they came from, and then everything went quiet." When asked if the shots came from
inside, he said that "[he] could not say who had fired the shots." With regard to these same events, he
said that a "policeman who was wearing a white shirt went straight into the room where the dead
policeman was hiding." He heard two shots but could not identify "where they came from because we
had hidden behind the wall.” However, "five minutes after the shooting stopped it transpired that a
policeman had died."
-
Ana Teresa García Espinoza38 said that she "saw a man in a uniform lying on the ground,
shooting at the room and that there was another uniformed man behind the room [...] and from then
on the only thing you could hear was shooting.” She said that after saying to her brother that "he
must be inside," "the uniformed man, trying to remain hidden, made his way to where Mr. Valencia
was, that is, to the room ... and went inside. Almost immediately the other uniformed man came up
and told the first one that he was already dead. Then, outside the room the two policemen shook
hands.” She said that the policeman with the rifle wanted to shoot into the air but "he had run out of
bullets.”
-
Franklin Antonio García Espinoza39 said “that from where [he] was positioned [he] was
watching the two officers fire at the room where Policeman Valencia was.” He did not recall "exactly
how many shots were fired but there were approximately 10 shots,” and he could not "say if the
shots also came from inside.” He said that "after the shooting Second Lieutenant Cabezas and Second
Lieutenant Piedra went into the room, forcing the lock, and after a while the two officers came out
and said that Policeman Valencia was dead, and that [he] should also mention that when the two
36Appendix 2. First National Police District Court. Judgment of March 5, 1997. Appendix to the State’s communication of
February 7, 2011, received at the IACHR on February 14, 2011.
37Appendix 9. Testimony of Luis Alcides Valdiviezo. December 16, 1993. Appendix to the State’s communication of February 7,
2011, received at the IACHR on February 14, 2011.
38 Appendix 10. Testimony of Ana Teresa García Espinoza. December 16, 1993. Appendix to the State’s communication of
February 7, 2011, received at the IACHR on February 14, 2011.
39 Appendix 8 Testimony of Franklyn Antonio García Espinosa. December 16, 1993. Appendix to the State’s communication of
February 7, 2011, received at the IACHR on February 14, 2011.