‘The Prosecutor’s Office pursues crimes, not people,’ says the institution about the case of police officer Santiago Olmedo, sentenced to three years in prison

The sentence of three years and four months in prison received by the Second Corporal of the Police Santiago Olmedo, for shooting down two criminals during an assault, caused the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, reject condemns her and expresses her support for the gendarme.

Faced with the president’s comment and the National Police -which also disagreed with the Court’s decision-, the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) issued a statement in which he maintains that “criminal conduct they are judged and punished regardless of the position that a defendant may holdwhether he is a public servant or official, or not, as long as it is proven – beyond any reasonable doubt – that he adapted his conduct to a crime typified as such in the law.

The Prosecutor’s Office indicated that it acts in accordance with the regulations in force in Ecuador, based on the principle of objectivity, chasing crimes, not people.

Police Santiago Olmedo was sentenced to three years in prison; President Guillermo Laso said that he will give ‘all the support’

In addition, the institution indicated that the Constitution and criminal law punish any attack or violation of right to life and therefore there is a need to investigate, judge and sanction -if applicable- when it is verified that there has been a violation of this right.

The second corporal of the Police received the sentence this Wednesday, January 19, after being found guilty by the crime of overreach in the performance of an act of service. Last June 11, 2021, in Riobamba, Olmedo shot two criminals that they were assaulting a minor.

In this regard, the Prosecutor’s Office stated in its statement that law enforcement officers are instructed and trained in the progressive use of force, to guarantee its performance in accordance with the law and international treaties.

“The State Attorney General’s Office say hello to the police institution and recognizes its important role as a guarantor of security and rights, as well as its role as an assistant in criminal investigations. But it also ratifies the citizenry that will continue to act in strict accordance with the law, to the principle of objectivity and in accordance with the international obligations of the State, investigating and accusing anyone, regardless of their quality or profession, if they break the law”, the statement concludes. (I)