Following the 2015 killing of 12 men, including four teenagers, by state police,
Amnesty International published a
Huffington Post article on its website, reporting that official figures from the Annual Report of Public Security, reveal that, each day, "at least six people are killed by police officers in Brazil" and that the true number is likely higher, as "most states across the country prefer to keep these alarming figures under wraps." Costa was widely criticized for his public response, including a false narrative of events and declaring the police as "heroes".
Al-Jazeera also reported the killings and that the largest Black population in Brazil, resides in Costa's home, the Bahia state capitol,
Salvador da Bahia, and that "80 percent of those killed by police in Brazil are young, black and poor." ==References==