A PROTEST march by striking police officers in Brazil turned into a riot on Thursday afternoon when they were prevented from reaching their intended destination by rival on-duty officers.
Military police fired rubber bullets, flash bombs and tear gas at around 2,500 civil police officers when they tried to breach a barrier barring their way to the state governor's mansion in the city of São Paulo. The protesters had wanted to hand in a letter to the state governor backing up their demands for a 15 per cent pay rise, for which they have been on strike for more than a month.
In Brazil, each state has its own civil and military police forces. The civil police comprises mainly plain-clothes officers whose job is to investigate crime, while the military police is a uniformed force, primarily tasked with maintaining public order.
São Paulo's secretariat for public security, the state ministry in charge of policing, has not been able to confirm initial local reports of an exchange of gunfire during the disturbances.
There is long-standing rivalry and tension between São Paulo's two forces and security experts say their reluctance to work together is one of the main causes of Brazil's police inefficiency.
In São Paulo, the military police has a reputation for violence, with a long history of harbouring death squads in its ranks. The state's civil police is notorious for corruption among its officers.
Following the disturbances, 32 people were treated in local hospitals, including at least six passers-by. The trouble broke out in the Morumbi district, one of the city's wealthiest residential neighbourhoods.
Union leaders of civil police officers in other states are threatening a day of action in support of their colleagues in São Paulo.