By Ingrid Bachmann
An investigation by internal affairs of Costa Rica's police force into the police beating of journalists at television channels 6 and 7 could last between two and six months and potentially could lead to officers being fired, reported Notimex and DPA.
Images broadcast by Channel 7 (Teletica) show police officers knocking down and beating a cameraman, who ended up with a bloody nose. Also, according to the television station, a cameraman for Channel 6 (Repretel) was beaten with a metal baton.
The incident occurred Dec. 30, when the two television teams were recording a police raid on a neighborhood on the periphery of capital city San José, reported La Nación. Juan José Andrade, director of the police force, called the actions of the police “abusive and excessive.”
Andrade also said severe punishments would be enforced and that he was not ruling out firing those involved in the aggression, Notimex explained in another article.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
