Tarcisio de Freitas Defends São Paulo Police Amid Dark Horse Investigation Controversy
São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas defended the São Paulo Civil and Military police forces on August 25, 2026, condemning criticism regarding an ongoing investigation involving a municipal Wi-Fi contract and a Jair Bolsonaro biopic producer as a sign of disrespect. Speaking at an event in northern São Paulo, the governor asserted that the state’s security apparatus operates professionally and independently, following the established legal rules.
According to reporting from Metrópoles, the governor’s remarks followed a decision by Supreme Federal Court (STF) Minister Flávio Dino, who granted a request from the Federal Police to access data from an ongoing investigation. The inquiry targets Karina Ferreira da Gama, head of the Instituto Conhecer Brasil and the Go Up Entertainment production company responsible for the Jair Bolsonaro biopic Dark Horse. Investigators are probing an alleged public fund diversion involving a 108 million Brazilian real contract signed with the city of São Paulo to supply Wi-Fi across the capital.
Governor Defends State Police Independence
Critics from political opposition groups recently accused the São Paulo Civil Police of intentionally stalling the investigation. Governor Freitas rejected those claims during his address at the VII Seminar on Facing Domestic Violence in Santana, located in the northern zone of the capital.
Isso é um desrespeito com a Polícia de São Paulo, que é uma polícia extremamente profissional, é uma polícia de estado, não é uma polícia de governo
Tarcísio de Freitas, Governor of São Paulo
Freitas added that both the civil and military branches maintain professional standards and deserve public confidence as state institutions. He also confirmed that judicial determinations will be fulfilled according to the law.
Proposals on Domestic Violence and Police Body Cameras
During the same seminar, the governor introduced proposals aimed at strengthening protections against domestic violence, including the creation of a public registry containing the names of men with protective measures against them. He argued that such a database would provide essential safety information to new partners unaware of an individual’s history. Furthermore, Freitas advocated for penalizing offenders through restrictions on public employment, housing programs through the Housing and Urban Development Company (CDHU), and credit access.
In separate public commentary addressing law enforcement operations, the governor defended the manual activation mechanism for police body cameras, describing the equipment as comparable to technology currently utilized in Paris amid rising lethal force statistics within the state.