Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo
Major Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo (born c. 1989) is a Brazilian police officer who has won international awards for her bravery and integrity.[1]
Life
She was born in about 1989 and she was brought up in an area of Rio called Laranjeiras. She herself arrested people who had earlier kidnapped her and held her prisoner.[2]
In 1998 she joined the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State, and in 2000 she began working in street repression operations and police battalions.[1] In 2007 she was kidnapped and attacked, but she escaped and managed to arrest three of her kidnappers.[3][4] In 2008 she was placed in charge of the first “Police Pacification Unit” (UPP) in Rio de Janeiro, in the favela of Santa Marta.[1][3][2] As of January 2014 she is the chief of the Police Pacification Unit in Rocinha, which she became chief of in 2013 after its officers were accused of being involved in the disappearance of a local man.[5][2]
She received a 2012 International Women of Courage award, and Veja named her Defender of the City.[1][2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "2012 International Women of Courage Award Winners". state.gov.
- 1 2 3 4 Jonathan Watts. "Voices of Brazil: the police chief pioneer". the Guardian.
- 1 2 "Meet Major Pricilla: the woman pacifying Rio's favelas ahead of the World Cup". Telegraph.co.uk. 19 October 2013.
- ↑ Zhang Jingya. "Americas Now 07/28/2014 Game changer- Pricilla de oliveira Azevedo - CCTV News - CCTV.com English". cntv.cn.
- ↑ "BBC News - Favela life: Rio's city within a city". BBC News.