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COSTA RICA |
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San
José Municipal
Police And Street Vendors Clash; 13 Injured
Once again street vendors and the municipal
police clash in downtown San José, this time
around, 13 were injured and 5 detained,
after one of the vendors seized a gun from
one of the police officials.
The intense confrontation began shortly
after 3:30pm on Calle 3 and Avenida Segunda,
lasting for about 2 hours.
Deitel Beita, head of operations for the the
Policía Municipal de San José, confirmed
that during the melee one or more of the
vendors grabbed the gun of the officers.
Of the 13 injured, 8 were police officials,
one of which was wounded with a knife.
Controversy surrounded the confrontation,
many of the vendors claiming that the
municipal police officials abused their
authority and used violence, triggering the
reaction by the street vendors.
The official report indicates that the
confrontation began when police officials
confiscated merchandise from one of the
illegal street vendors, who reacted
aggressively against the officials, when the
situation heated up and others vendors
stepped in, as more police officials
responded to the call for assistance.
Local merchants immediately closed their
doors, dropping the steel curtains over
their store windows in fear of an all out
and out riot. when street vendors began to
throw stones at police.
Confrontation between municipal police
officers and street vendors have been
numerous this year, following a crack down
by the Municipalidad de San José, to curb
the prolifiration of street vendors along
the "boulevard" and other pedestrian
walkways in the downtown core.
Street vendors face a ¢3.000 colones
(us$5.45) fine and the confiscation of their
merchanside, which is sent to the Juzgado de
Contravenciones as evidence. The
confiscation of the merchandise by police
has been the major source of the
confrontations.
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