A video recorded by residents shows military police officers smashing concrete benches and tables with sledgehammers and setting part of them on fire at Praça José Lamacchia, a square in the Bom Retiro neighborhood of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo state. According to G1, the incident took place during an operation on Monday, August 24, which the Military Police described as an effort to dismantle barricades and support points used by drug trafficking in the area.

Footage recorded by witnesses shows officers hammering the concrete structures and setting fire to part of the square's furniture. The images sparked outrage among residents, who criticized the action on social media after the footage circulated. In a statement to G1, the Military Police said the square was under the control of a criminal organization and had become unsafe and unsanitary for community use, arguing that the coverings, benches and tables made it harder for security forces to access the area and put residents at risk.

The police force said the removal was carried out strictly for public safety purposes and that the material was cleared with support from Terra Santos, the city's urban cleaning contractor. According to the police, the square will now have continuous policing and be returned to the population's use. The occupation of these spaces by drug trafficking deprives citizens of their right to community life and leisure, and poses a permanent risk to the lives of residents nearby, the force said in the statement cited by G1.

The Santos city government told G1 that the regional administration for the Zona Noroeste district will assess the site to determine what repairs are needed. City officials also said the Municipal Civil Guard was not called to the scene and that there was no prior notice about the demolition of the structures; Terra Santos, the city said, was contacted directly by the police only to remove the debris. G1 asked the police whether formal authorization existed for removing the structures but had not received a response as of its last update.

Seizures and a history of violence at the square

During the operation, officers seized R$ 180.25 in cash, two precision scales, a cell phone, two packages of tubes used to store drugs, three notebooks and portions of cocaine, marijuana and crack cocaine, police said. Officers also identified an illegal water tap in the area and took the person responsible to the police station.

Praça José Lamacchia has been the site of several deadly armed confrontations over the years. In February 2024, Rota police officer Samuel Wesley Cosmo was shot in the face and killed while patrolling an alley near the square alone, an episode that triggered the second phase of Operação Verão, a security crackdown in the Baixada Santista region. The following month, Edneia Fernandes Silva, 31, a mother of six, died after being hit by a stray bullet while sitting and talking on a bench in the square. In April of the same year, police killed Carlos Henrique Barbosa Garcia, 26, who officers said had threatened them at the same location.