Rio de Janeiro killings by police soar

As murder rate in Brazil’s second city drops to lowest level on record, police are killing more people.

There were fewer murders in Brazil‘s second city of Rio de Janeiro last year – but the number of killings by police has soared.

Killings by police are at their highest levels since the 1990s, with an average of five people a day killed by officers.

Rights organisations say many officers have killed people in self-defence but some are engaging in summary executions.

Innocent civilians are often getting caught in the crossfire, as Al Jazeera’s John Holman reports.