Municipal police officers in Jalostotitlán and Poncitlán, Jalisco, have been disarmed and relieved of their duties due to suspicious behavior, state Security Minister Juan Bosco Pacheco announced Friday.
State officials seized communications equipment, computers and files from the offices of both forces as evidence.
During the next 15 days, Bosco said, the estimated 300 police officers will be re-evaluated and receive training in human rights and the appropriate use of force and confidence and anti-doping tests.
State police, the army and the National Guard will take over local policing for an indefinite period, he added.
Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro said investigations are underway into both police forces.
“We are not going to allow anyone to steal the tranquility of our people, those who work to serve and care for the people of Jalisco. Any person who walks a crooked path will pay the consequences,” the governor warned.
As many as 18 municipal police forces in Jalisco have been decommissioned since 2014, including those in Tula, Villa Purificación, Pihuamo, Jilotán de los Dolores, Teocaltiche, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Ocotlán and Bolaños.
Suspicions over officers’ links to organized crime are the most common reason for removing officers from duty.
Just this year police forces in four municipalities have been relieved of their duties, In February, 160 officers in San Juan de los Lagos were disarmed after they were linked to organized crime. In June, police in Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos were decommissioned after a local man died of a traumatic brain injury after he was allegedly beaten to death by police officers.
Two officers have been charged with torture in his death and one has been charged with homicide.
