Mayor: 'We have the President's disposition and we can enter the houses to avoid crowds'
The Pichincha Police Intendancy will carry out operations to control compliance with the measures of the state of emergency, decreed for the cases of covid-19. Photo: Twitter Police Intendance of Pichincha
It is not the first time that the curfew has been in force in Pichincha . On this occasion, it was ruled in the midst of a new uptick in cases that has saturated the health system , for which the President of the Republic decreed a state of emergency in 16 provinces.
Daniela Valarezo , Pichincha Police General Intendant, explains the details of the control that will start this Friday, April 23, 2021. What will the control be like during the curfew?
It is important to read the published Executive Decree well. Article 13 says that the objective is to control crowds and clandestine parties in properties, including associations and meetings. For this, the Ministry, through the intendancies, will execute the control measures for compliance, respecting the constitutional rights that are not suspended. What will they do when they arrive, for example, at a party?
The Decree states that the interventions will be to disperse meetings, crowds and parties, and discourage attendance at them. Thanks to the Decree, the 24 mayors and commissioners and the Police have an enormous responsibility. We can suspend the parties that have caused many problems since the pandemic began and that are held in apartments, communal houses, and others. We can get in, suspend and deter people. What is the difference with what happened before the state of exception?
Before the Decree, we could not enter private property without a search warrant. The best we could do was ask the owner of another apartment to open the door of the building for us, and we would go up to the place where the party was taking place, but we couldn't do anything else.
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Can they use force today?
Yes. Always respecting rights. We enter and disperse, but if there is a disturbance to public order or a crime, arrests can be made. What if people don't open the door?
According to the Organic Comprehensive Criminal Code, there would be non-compliance with legitimate decisions of the competent authority, and that is a crime. In the event that they do not want to open the door, the citizen can be arrested and put under orders from the authority. And it can be punished with a custodial sentence of one to three years as long as flagrancy is proven. The judge determines the penalty. We have the disposition of the President and we can enter the houses. How many people will participate in the controls?
Only 40 people work in the Intendancy. Of these, 10 are infected with covid-19, that is, 25% of our staff. The 30 of us who are well will work, with the support of the Police and the Armed Forces. What can and what can't? The right to free mobility is suspended. No one can be on the streets, except for the exceptions. The Decree provides that the use of parks, squares and other open-air public spaces is prohibited at night. What if someone is aggressive or resists?
You can be arrested for other crimes, for example, assault on authority, disorderly conduct. What is the most frequent fault that you have found in the previous curfews?
Parties, clandestine meetings and crowds. We are going to avoid that. We are going to be respectful of rights, but life is above any other right.
