Acquitted Officer in Leandro Lo Killing Set for PM Reinstatement After Apology Video

Overview

• São Paulo’s Military Police said internal steps to reinstate Henrique Velozo are underway under a court injunction from the state appeals court.
• Velozo released a video asking Leandro Lo’s relatives for forgiveness while insisting he acted to preserve his own life, saying he “had to dirty” his hands.
• A jury acquitted Velozo after accepting the defense’s self‑defense claim, with at least four of seven jurors voting to absolve him during the Nov. 12–14 trial.
• Lo’s family denounced the decision, with his mother writing that she felt she was burying her son a second time.
• The 2022 shooting occurred during a Pixote show at Clube Sírio; Velozo had spent more than three years in preventive detention and had been accused of triple‑qualified intentional homicide, and his prior administrative dismissal was suspended by a judicial injunction.