An off-duty Border Police officer who shot and seriously wounded a driver on Saturday in Acre, after allegedly identifying a threat to pedestrians, was questioned under caution overnight and released to five days of house arrest.
The officer was questioned on suspicion of aggravated shooting and wounding in connection with the unusual incident.
According to the officer's account, as relayed by Border Police officials, he spotted a vehicle speeding toward a group of women standing on the sidewalk. He claimed that the manner in which the driver was operating the vehicle posed a genuine danger.
Police said the officer also believed his own life was in danger, prompting him to open fire at the vehicle.
However, the incident did not end at the scene of the shooting. Despite being wounded by the gunfire, the driver fled the scene and was later evacuated to a hospital in serious condition.
Doctors at the hospital were forced to operate on the driver, after which he was transferred to the general intensive care unit, where he remains hospitalized on a ventilator.
Meanwhile, as the wounded driver received medical treatment, officers from the Acre police station and forensic investigators began examining the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Police Internal Investigations Department opens probe into Acre shooting
Police officers who arrived at the scene collected evidence and forensic findings, while the Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID) opened an investigation into the Border Police officer himself.
During the night, the officer was questioned under caution on suspicion of aggravated shooting and wounding.
Following the questioning, investigators decided not to keep him in custody, and he was released to five days of house arrest. He was also prohibited from entering police facilities for two weeks.
PIID investigators must now examine the circumstances surrounding the officer's use of his firearm and assess his account of the incident, according to which he opened fire in response to the danger he perceived on the road.
The central question is whether the circumstances justified the shooting, which left the driver seriously wounded.
The Police Internal Investigations Department said that the investigation is ongoing.