São Paulo Court Upholds Drunk Driver's Pretrial Detention After Killing Police Officer

A São Paulo court has ordered the pretrial detention of Bruno Yusio Sales Shimizu, 22, who is accused of fatally striking a police officer while driving drunk and in the wrong lane. The incident occurred early Thursday, November 23rd, on Avenida Nove de Julho in the city's South Zone. Shimizu was reportedly driving at high speed on the wrong side of the road when he collided head-on with Sergeant Fábio Ferreira de Souza, 50, who was riding a police motorcycle. Sergeant Souza, a 26-year veteran nearing retirement, was married with two children. He was taken to Hospital das Clínicas with cardiac arrest but could not be saved. Shimizu was arrested at the scene for vehicular manslaughter and taken to the 14th Police District in Pinheiros. The Volvo car he was driving was seized. This is not Shimizu's first fatal incident; in 2020, when he was 17, he was involved in an accident that killed a 19-year-old motorcyclist. As a minor at the time, he faced juvenile proceedings rather than criminal charges. Investigations revealed that Shimizu had spent approximately R$3,000 on alcoholic beverages shortly before the crash at a nightclub in the Vila Olímpia area. Security footage shows him entering Avenida Nove de Julho against traffic, later swerving into the central lane where he hit Sergeant Souza's motorcycle. Upon exiting his vehicle, Shimizu showed signs of intoxication and refused a breathalyzer test. Two female passengers fled the scene before police arrived, while a male passenger was taken to the station and subsequently released.