Lutheran pastor is appointed police ombudsman of Mato Grosso State, Brazil

ALC

Pastor Teobaldo Witter, 60, of the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB), was chosen from a triple list by the State Council on Human Rights (CEDH-MT) and appointed by the governor Silval Barbosa for the role of the Police Ombudsman State of Mato Grosso. He served as ombudsman of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DETRAN-MT) for eight and a half years, said the journalist Keka Werneck, Burnier Center's Faith and Justice, of the Jesuit priests.

Witter, who is a minister since the 70's, feels challenged to the new task. In addition to theology, he studied pedagogy at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) and concluded Masters in Theology in Faculty EST, São Leopoldo, in 2010. The pastor runs the Center for Human Rights Henrique Trindade (CDHHT) and in the regional of National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC-MT).

The role of the police ombudsman is the same as developed in the Department of Motor Vehicles: hear complaints from the public and make suggestions for change."The Ombudsman is the gateway to the complaints," he said.

The police, military and civilian, have their institutional ombudsman. "This Ombudsman that I took is popular," he noted. "Here come several issues," he explained, from complaints of the police to suggestions for improvements in the area.

"I see that people think the complaints are not properly taken seriously. So, first I have to work so that people understand that everything is investigated. There is nothing shelved. Everything is sent to Internal Affairs," he said.

Its role is to "answer which is a function of police in a democratic society", while "who defends human rights." He said that "the system is democratic in theory but in practice it is not. Many of the police enter in the dimension of a work that reaffirms this system of exclusion”. The function requires that "manage class Human Rights, democracy and citizenship in police academies."

About the internal tension of militarian and civilian forces, noted that Mato Grosso and Brazil will necessarily have to have a more citizen-police, if they want to be recognized worldwide as a country fair, a fair state. "The state has to ensure that human rights are respected. It may not be as before: he's making and over. This has to do with foreign policy and financing", he pointed out.

Among the new officers who have entered into the corporation, much of that vision is of a different police, said. Believes that "most police officers are employees, and society must have respect for them, who are also offended, abused and beaten. Others, however, are really violent. These should be treated differently, can not count on impunity. Must work within the limits of the law", signaled.