The defense of gendarme Héctor Guerrero requested the revocation of his prosecution as the alleged perpetrator of the shot fired with a gas pistol at photojournalist Pablo Grillo, who suffered gravest injuries during a retirees' protest on March 12 last year in downtown Buenos Aires. He made the request before the Federal Chamber of Buenos Aires, which will decide in the coming days whether to confirm the prosecution for aggravated serious injuries to Grillo, judicial sources reported. The motion was filed before judges Roberto Boico, Eduardo Farah, and Martín Irurzun, members of the tribunal's Chamber II, in a hearing that also included Fabián and Emiliano Grillo, the photographer's father and brother. Guerrero, assisted by lawyers Martín Sarubbi and Claudio Nuncija, asked to reverse the prosecution order issued by federal judge María Servini. The defense argued that it has not been proven that the gendarme fired the shot or that he acted with intent, and stated that his conduct complied with the current protocols for the use of gas-launching weapons. Meanwhile, the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), which participates as a complainant, backed Servini's ruling and the validity of the evidence measures, including the on-site investigation, a ballistic report from the City Police, and the reconstruction called the 'Police Map', created by audiovisual producers and forensic experts. The prosecution insisted that the shot was illegal, as the officer was not in a situation that justified the use of such a weapon, and recalled that the Ministry of Security's regulations state that its use is 'exceptional'. During the hearing, Fabián Grillo, the photographer's father, told the judges that 'a person with experience with weapons can shoot where they want, and that's the case' with Guerrero. The tribunal is in a position to rule in the coming days on whether to confirm or revoke the gendarme's prosecution.
