The police officer who shot dead a father during an arrest in Lisbon has been handed a suspended sentence for homicide with eventual intent and excessive force, Público reports. While he won’t be jailed, Bruno Pinto’s suspended sentence lasts for three and a half years and he will have to pay the family of Odair Moniz €90,000, and €220 a month until the immigrant from Cape Verde’s youngest son becomes an adult. The judge also extinguished his suspension from the Public Security Police (PSP), meaning it will be up to an internal inquiry to determine any punishment.
In a judgment handed down on Monday, judge Ana Sequeira found Pinto acted in legitimate defence against Moniz’s resistance and aggression but his use of a firearm was excessive. Pinto justified his decision by saying he’d seen a knife but neither witnesses nor images backed that up during the trial. It was found to be proven that the cook did not wield a knife but Pinto’s testimony was considered sincere except for on that point. Pinto was found to have acted “in the exercise of his duties” as a police officer and without prejudice during the arrest over an alleged driving violation in the migrant-heavy Cova da Moura neighbourhood. He shot to immobilise Monair “on instinct” and for his “own self-defence” but although the arrest was legitimate, his use of a firearm at short range was considered disproportional. The death sparked days of unrest across several neighbourhoods. Sequeira noted the police officer had shown sadness over the death.
A lawyer for Pinto, who was 28 with two years’ experience on the force at the time of the October 2024 shooting, said he was considering appealing and wanted to return to the police. Public prosecutors had called for the agent to be convicted of homicide and be expelled from the PSP. They pushed back on claims of legitimate self-defence, arguing Pinto “should be properly qualified to perform his duties”. Homicide with eventual intent is defined as when someone does not have the direct intention but assumes the risk of killing. The prosecutor argued police action should never exceed what was “strictly necessary” to combat crime. He said images showed Moniz resisting being restrained and handcuffed, while striking the officers a few times but could not be considered “extreme violence” justifying the use of a weapon. Other images seen in the trial also showed Pinto appearing to rummage in a bag next to Moniz’s body, a second bag that hadn’t been on the victim’s belt and a stained knife that only appeared at some later point. The prosecutor claimed the crime scene had been contaminated.
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