Protestors took to the streets in Villa Luz, a working-class neighbourhood in Bogotá, and destroyed the regional police holding station where the offending officers had taken Javier Ordóñez, after picking him for breaking social distancing restrictions and public drinking. The father of two suffered multiple instances of cranial trauma in the aftermath of being subdued, tasered and detained by local police. Protestors chanted “Cerdos!” (Pigs) or “Cerdos asesinos!” (Murderous Pigs) as they marched in solidarity, galvanized by this most recent tragedy. To many, this was a clear case of police abusing their authority, and a glaring example of an institution that has become a rogue force, the by-product of the several decades of armed civil conflict that has terrorized Colombia’s rural areas. Protests spread early, lasting for days, throughout Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquillá, Bucaramanga, Popayán, Ibagué and Pareira.
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