Story By: Juan Fenandez Mayes, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
Newsflash/@HolguerEC
This is the moment a police officer shoots towards a man being detained for drinking on the street during coronavirus lockdown after the suspect hits a patrol car with a metal pole.
The incident took place in the municipal zone of La Ferroviaria located in the southern part of the Ecuadorian capital city of Quito on Sunday 19th April.
The video shows the moment a Metropolitan Transit Agency (AMT) patrol car aggressively turns, almost ramming a policeman who is forced to jump away to avoid being hit.
Newsflash/@HolguerEC 
Newsflash/@HolguerEC 
Newsflash/@HolguerEC 
Newsflash/@HolguerEC
A shirtless man falls down and drops a metal beam which makes a loud noise when it hits the ground. Shortly after getting back on his feet, the patrol car reverses toward the man forcing him to step aside.
The man then uses the beam to repeatedly hit the police vehicle as the person filming the incident can be heard saying: “Oh my God, what is happening?”
Two onlookers try to hold back the suspect as he continues to hit the patrol car window.
Once the vehicle drives away a policeman walks towards the man and discharges his weapon in his direction.
It is unclear if he intended to injure the man or if it was a warning shot, however, there have been no reports of any injuries.
A woman is heard yelling at the shot as a second shirtless man walks directly towards the cops with both hands raised.
Local media report the two men seen with their hands raised in the video were drunk and confronted by police for drinking on the street and breaking the country’s coronavirus lockdown.
The situation escalated after the two men reportedly refused to cooperate which resulted in the incident.
AMT made a statement the next day saying: “We apprehended two citizens for assaulting policemen and Quito AMT agents as well as damaging vehicles of the State and not complying with the lockdown.”
The City Hall also released a statement saying: “Citizens progressively break the law, reporting unfortunate incidents like the one that happened on 19th April in La Ferroviaria.”
It is unclear if the two suspects have been charged.
According to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University, Ecuador has reported 10,398 cases of coronavirus leading to 520 deaths.
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