Unusual pursuit of a stolen vehicle had dozens of cars breaking traffic lights, criticism on the internet, fugitive on foot and a driver in the hospital
What should be the recovery of a stolen vehicle turned into an unusual scene worthy of an action script through the streets of Recife (PE). Last Friday (15), a convoy made up of about 40 electric cars ran red lights and crossed the city at high speed in a real hunt for robbers. The chase, promoted by a group that calls itself “Electric Falcons”, ended disastrously: a pedestrian run over, criminals on the run and one of the members of the vigilante convoy shot by mistake by the Military Police itself.
The episode brought notoriety to the Pernambuco collective, which brings together about 70 app drivers who drive electric vehicles. The overwhelming majority use the BYD Dolphin model, which has earned the group ironic nicknames on social networks — such as “Dolphin Gang” or “Dolphin Troop”. On the internet, the actions of the “hawks” also attracted criticism for the decision to ignore the vehicle’s insurance and act as a parallel police force, putting innocent civilians at risk on public roads.
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The chaos began when one of the drivers was surrendered in the Torrões neighborhood, in the West Zone of the capital of Recife. Taking advantage of real-time location sharing, dozens of electric cars set out to rescue the white automobile on their own. The chase lasted approximately 45 minutes and crossed the city to the Boa Viagem neighborhood, in the South Zone.
It was during the interception attempt with the Traffic Police Battalion (BPTran) that the situation got out of control. The volume of identical vehicles at high speed generated tactical disorientation. According to Carlos Júnior, a 22-year-old app driver who was in the convoy, the PMs mistook his car for that of the criminals and shot without any stop order, hitting him in the shoulder.
The real robbers only abandoned the vehicle after losing control and running over a pedestrian on the edge of Pina, managing to escape on foot. Faced with the confusion and with the negative balance of the amateur operation, the Secretariat of Social Defense (SDS-PE) opened an investigation to investigate the police conduct. Meanwhile, the group that provoked the hunt is dealing with the damage: they organized an online fundraiser with the goal of raising R$ 50 thousand to cover the damage of the crashed car and the medical costs of the colleague shot.
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