António Pedro Santos / Lusa
Two witnesses spoke about a “dispute” between the Cape Verdean and the two agents, and how policeman Bruno Pinto shot “down” at Odair Moniz. Judge warned witness that he risks prosecution for false testimony.
Two witnesses from the moment when, in 2024, a police officer shot dead Odair Moniz in Cova da Moura assured this Wednesday in the trial of the case that the victim I had nothing in my hand when it was hit.
Asked by the Public Ministry whether Odair Moniz had “some instrument” in his hand when PSP agent Bruno Pinto fired twice, Fábio and Evandro Duarte, uncle and nephew aged 31 and 21, responded that he did not.
In the first session of the trial, on October 22, Bruno Pinto, 28 years old, assured that when he fired he believed that the Cape Verdean citizen was threatening him with a knife, as it was in the victim’s waist area.
Shots fired “downwards”
This Tuesday, the two witnesses stated that the shots occurred following a dispute between the police officer and Odair Moniz, who wanted to avoid being handcuffed and detained by the PSP. “There ended up being a dispute, he [Odair Moniz] ended up trying to push him away [ao polícia]and he ends up trying to put Odair on the ground and ends up firing the shots”, reported Evandro Duarte, specifying that the shots were “downwards”.
Fábio Duarte described that at the moment Bruno Pinto was trying to immobilize the Cape Verdean citizen, he “was a little lower”, and the policeman took out his pistol and fired, with the weapon glued to his body. In the second shot, he said, the PSP agent “already had his arms outstretched”.
Contradictions
The session was also marked by doubts expressed by the court regarding the view that the youngest witness had of the events, with one of the judges using the Google Maps application to maintain that the young man was further away from the place and with less visibility to what happened than he claimed.
After the long report and when confronted with the video surveillance images, the judge warned the witness that he risked a lawsuit for false testimony due to several contradictions.
For example, when he said he saw the PSP vehicles, he told the PJ that he was five meters away and now in court he said that, after all, there were more than 15, according to . Videos were viewed during the session showing Odair’s aggression against the agents. Witnesses say they are surprised, but say they did not see any knife.
Odair Moniz, 43 years old and resident in Bairro do Zambujal (Amadora), was shot dead by PSP agent Bruno Pinto on October 21, 2024, after trying to escape from the PSP and resisting being detained following a road traffic violation. According to the Public Ministry’s indictment, dated January 29, 2025, the Cape Verdean citizen was hit by two projectiles – the first in the chest area, fired from between 20 and 50 centimeters away; and a second in the groin area, fired from between 75 centimeters and one meter away. The order does not mention any threat with a bladed weapon by Odair Moniz.
Bruno Pinto, free and suspended from duty for around a year, is accused of murder and faces a sentence of eight to 16 years in prison. The trial continues on November 10th at the Central Criminal Court of Sintra, with more witnesses being heard.
