Santo Domingo.– Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) deputy, Eugenio Cedeño, stated that the National Police needs a deep purge following the death of young Darling Enmanuel Mercado Reyes during an operation in Herrera, considering that there are agents within the institution with profiles incompatible with police service.
The legislator maintained that authorities must prioritize the psychological evaluation of officers over image changes or equipment for the institution.
“The Police must be purged of criminals, of psychopaths. A psychopath can be spotted from a distance; now, if the person leading them is another psychopath, they don’t care that the psychopath is there,” he expressed.
Cedeño also called on President Luis Abinader and the Director General of the National Police to ensure that police reform focuses on the mental health and profiling of officers.
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“My call to the Chief of Police and the President of the Republic is that we forget about the new uniforms, that we forget about the little cameras, if we want, about certain facades, and that we get into the minds of these police officers,” he said.
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The congressman compared the training of police officers with that of the military, considering that the preparation time for agents is insufficient for the responsible use of firearms.
“You have a security guard who spends four years studying to have a gun on his waist, and a police officer who, after three months, is taught how to run, taught how to hold a shield in his hand, and goes out onto the street with a dog’s mentality to kill boys,” he stated.
Cedeño’s statements come amidst the commotion generated by the death of 19-year-old Darlin Enmanuel Mercado Reyes, who passed away after being shot by a police officer during an operation in the Guajimía ravine, in Herrera, Santo Domingo West.
