Lack of training in police procedures played a key part in the deaths of four municipal officers from El Salto, who were killed during a recent operation at a property where a criminal gang was keeping various hostages.
Writing in El Informador, editorialist Jaime Barrera questioned the decisions of the municipal force, which allowed two officers to “knock on the door” of a property where a suspected criminal cell was presumed to be holding out, without first seeking backup from other agencies with better staffing and fire power.
In his article, Barrera quoted a former police officer, who told him, “If it had been an ambush, then the result is logical, due to the surprise factor. But if this was a planned operation to ascertain what was inside the house, then you are supposed to apply a whole procedure, to achieve the objective without casualties.”
The fallen officers—Arturo Coronado Díaz, 37; Daniel Vargas Magdaleno, 41; Ángel Reyes Urenda Blas, 32; and Rogelio Emmanuel González Bucio, 28—were honored at a special ceremony on June 24, two days after the incident.
Said Jalisco Security Coordinator Ricardo Sánchez Beruben: “We lost four heroes who embraced a profession, a vocation, a lifestyle that unfortunately most of the time is highly criticized.”
In addition to the four officers, eight suspects died in the ensuring gun battle. Six people who were arrested, at least three with serious injuries, have been arraigned for further investigation.