Brazil state says deal to end police strike after week of violence

VITORIA, Brazil, (Reuters) Authorities in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo yesterday said they had reached a deal to end a weeklong police strike that has sparked violent anarchy and left more than 120 people dead.

State government officials, who had threatened striking police officers with criminal charges, said police were expected to return to work by 7 a.m. (0900 GMT) today.

It was still unclear if most policemen would stand by the deal and return to work, as the federal government dispatched more troops to the southeastern coastal state to try to quell the unrest.

Some relatives of striking police officers told Reuters the police unions who clinched the deal with the government did not represent them. Espirito Santo is one of several Brazilian states grappling with a budget crisis that is crippling essential public services for millions of citizens. The police strike over pay during the past week has left a security vacuum and led to rampant assaults, robberies and looting, often in broad daylight.

Limited protests by police in nearby Rio de Janeiro alarmed residents of the metropolitan area of 12 million people, many of whom live in fear of violence between rival drug gangs and other criminals. Some mayors in Rio de Janeiro state even announced plans to help make up for unpaid police salaries by using city finances to cover the state’s shortfalls.

In Espirito Santo, a spokesman for a local police union said the death toll from a week of unrest had risen to 122. State officials have not confirmed the toll but have said many of those killed are believed to belong to competing gangs.