The Judicial Police will have to decide whether one of its chief inspectors violated the duties of impartiality and impartiality of the code of ethics for criminal police officers by sharing on social media a long text dedicated to internal elections in the PS. Chief Inspector Paulo Ferrinho wrote that, “given the political conditions of the country” and “the possible polarization of votes in different parties,” former Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos is the candidate to succeed António Costa “who is the best in the PS meets the conditions to bring the left together on March 11, 2024”, the day after the next parliamentary term.
A source from the National Directorate of the Judicial Police confirmed to Diário de Notícias that the text shared by Paulo Ferrinho on Facebook and LinkedIn will be assessed for possible violation of the code of ethics. At issue is Article 7, which concerns the duties of immunity and impartiality, which states that ‘PJ professionals shall treat all citizens equally and impartially and act in accordance with strict principles of neutrality, refraining from any act that freedom of action and independence of judgment”.
Paulo Ferrinho’s text, in which he states that “Pedro Nuno Santos is the only one capable of bringing the left together to form a government” and that José Luís Carneiro “still does not have the support in the party and civil society, nor a national dimension that could compete on an equal footing with Luís Montenegro”, will be analyzed by the Directorate for Discipline and Inspection Services of the Judicial Police (PJ), headed by Deputy Attorney General Luísa Carrajola.
Still without officially knowing that his text will be analyzed by this criminal police body, Paulo Ferrinho refused in statements to Diário de Notícias that he had committed any violation of the code of ethics for PJ employees. “I do not support Pedro Nuno Santos,” he argues, arguing that he only conducted an analysis, “as an active citizen.”
“If you read the text carefully, it has to do with political clarification,” argues the chief inspector, for whom “serious and intellectually honest people” cannot say that what he wrote violates the duties of impartiality and impartiality.
Ferrinho emphasizes that he does not work in the field of investigation of economic crimes and also guarantees that he is not in the least limited in his work by what he wrote. “If PJ inspectors as citizens cannot have freedom of expression, their capacity will be reduced,” he told Diário de Notícias, adding that the code of ethics cannot be a “vow of silence and seclusion.”
This is not the first time he has been involved in controversies due to public interventions. Having been the target of legal proceedings while representing a municipal candidacy in Penafiel, he says he is “completely calm”. Especially because “it clearly states in the text that I am not a PS member”.
The chief inspector, who became famous when he interviewed former Prime Minister José Sócrates for a YouTube channel, makes “a special request” to Pedro Nuno Santos in the text that will now be analyzed: “I ask you to moderate yourself, without love to dare , who knows how to listen without ceasing to decide, who knows how to surround himself with people of merit and excellence, people with courage, detachment and detachment from interests, in the sense of saying “no” before he makes mistakes, able to stop save him from explosiveness, avoid future swamps and acts of contrition from the public who forsake friendships, and soften in advance their political impulsiveness and any relational immaturity.
Ferrinho was responsible for Évora’s local criminal investigation unit until May. He requested dismissal on personal grounds, following a trial in which he was charged by the Public Prosecution Service with six crimes, including one of qualified physical integrity, for alleged attacks on another PJ inspector.
Source: DN
