A Deadly Love Triangle in Barcelona’s Local Police Force: The Guardia Urbana Crime !!!
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Two officers have
been arrested on suspicion of murdering a third and burning the body in his car.
The charred car was in such a bad state that almost nothing could be retrieved from it. The body inside the trunk was practically reduced to ashes. But the chassis number gave investigators a lead: the vehicle owner was Pedro Rodríguez, a member of Barcelona’s local police force, the Guàrdia Urbana. And the remains of a prosthetic device that did not melt in the fire confirmed that the victim was Rodríguez himself.
Peral and López were arrested for killing a fellow police officer.
It happened on the afternoon of May 4, 2017, near the Foix reservoir in Barcelona province. The regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, have arrested two people in connection with the case: Rosa Peral, the victim’s partner, and her former boyfriend Albert López. All three are – or were – members of the Guàrdia Urbana, and all three had previously been involved in controversial cases and allegations of police abuse.
The judge investigating the case in Vilanova i la Geltrú has ordered both suspects remanded without bail, and charged them with either homicide or murder: “Which one will be determined as the investigation progresses,” she said in a release.
In statements to the judge, both officers accused one another of the death. According to the newspaper La Vanguardia, Rosal Peral told the court that Albert López came to her house, killed her boyfriend and asked her to cover up for him. “If you don’t help me, I will make your daughters choke on their own vomit,” he allegedly told Peral.
For his part, López claimed that he found Rodríguez’s body inside the trunk of the car, and that he helped burn it down because he and Peral had gotten back together again, La Vanguardia reported. The victim had made news in the past after being suspended by Barcelona City Hall when he physically assaulted a motorist who ran through a road check last summer. His partner, Peral, also made headlines when she reported that an ex-boyfriend – also with the local police force, but not involved in this case – had subjected her to “porno-revenge” by sending out a sexually explicit photograph of her after she broke up with him.
As for Albert López, he was convicted of assaulting a street vendor and had been the subject of a complaint on at least one more occasion.
Peral and López were patrol car partners at the Daytime Support Unit, which has among its duties the crackdown on illegal street vendors. In August 2014, one of these street peddlers fell down an embankment and died on their beat. Peral sustained injuries to her neck. The case was dismissed. When the Mossos arrested both of them as suspects in Rodríguez’s death, Peral said that she and Rodríguez had a fight on Tuesday night, and that he had not come home after that. Yet she did not immediately report his disappearance, or try to reach him in any way. She said that she had been too busy with her daughters that week, and simply thought that he was taking his time coming back.
“She was very self-possessed,” said people who saw her at the time. The day after Rodríguez went missing, Peral and López showed up together at a lunch with other unit colleagues. Some of them were surprised at seeing them arrive together. Rumor had it that the two had been a couple in the past, and that things had not ended well.
Peral’s attitude seemed suspicious to some. She attended a small tribute organized by her colleagues at the spot where the burnt car had been found, and asked rhetorically: “What were you doing here, Pedro?” She also asked her superiors for a bodyguard, claiming she was scared for her safety following Rodríguez’s murder. The request was granted.
The Mossos arrested Peral on Saturday morning, as she was out on duty. They also arrested López. The main theory of investigators is that the two had gotten back together behind Rodríguez’s back, that he found out about it, and that this triggered a fatal series of events.
Local and regional officials, as well as the police unions, have come out in defense of the Guàrdia Urbana. Meanwhile, non-profit groups like SOS Racisme are saying that when an officer is the subject of several complaints, he or she should be investigated.
Rodríguez’s friends are still in shock. “He was deeply in love,” said one of them. His WhatsApp status seemed to confirm it: “After the storm comes the calm. I love you, princess!!”
And on that note, it would come as a surprise to many that the majority of the most-wanted fugitives in Europe are women. Europe's crime agency Europol has revealed a list of 21 criminals who are on the run from the authorities. Eighteen of these are women. The wanted suspects have been accused of a range of charges including murder, human and drug trafficking and robbery. The most-wanted list was released as part of Europol's "Crime has no gender" campaign. A spokeswoman said: "People think that usually these crimes are not being committed by women, but they are, and they are equally as serious as those committed by men."
However, a crime expert told the BBC that: "Some women do commit serious crimes. They do so far less frequently than men."
The Europol campaign hopes to raise awareness, "that women are just as likely to commit violent crimes as men." A spokeswoman said: "Even though the discourse is often around male fugitives, women can be just as bad." The campaign's website asks visitors the question: "Are women equally as capable of committing serious crimes as men?" It then answers that very question by stating: "The female fugitives featured on Europe's Most Wanted website prove that they are capable.
The criminals - of both genders - in this new campaign by EU law enforcement are all wanted for grave offenses like murder, drug trafficking, fraud, theft and trafficking in human beings."
1.Vocabulary
Paragraph 1
1. | charred | a. | the base frame of a car, carriage, or other wheeled vehicle. |
2. | ashes | b. | burnt and blackened |
3. | chassis | c. | the powdery residue left after the burning of a substance. |
4. | prosthetic | d. | an artificial body part such as for a limb |
5. | abuse | e. | a claim that someone has done something illegal or wrong, typically one made without proof. |
6. | reservoir | f. | treat with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly. |
7. | allegation 8.suspicion | g. | a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply. h. a feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true. |
Paragraph 2
9. | remanded | i. | the fee that must be paid for the temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial |
10. | bail | j. | try to hide the fact of illegal or illicit activity. |
11. | assaulting | k. | a series of severe measures to restrict undesirable or illegal people or behaviour. |
12. | crackdown | l. | a piece of information that might help solve a crime. |
13. | embarkment | m. | a stone built to carry a road or railway over an area of low ground. |
14. | cover up | n. | make a physical attack on someone |
15. | lead | o. | imprisoned while a trial is taking place until the results are announced |
1. | self-possessed | a. | Do, carry out or perpetrate a mistake, crime, sin or immoral act. |
2. | fugitive | b. | A person who has escaped from a place or is in hiding, especially to avoid arrest. |
3. | revealed | c. | Charged someone with an offense or crime. |
4. | accused | d. | calm, confident, and in control of one's feelings; composed. |
5. | trafficking | e. | the territory and time that a police officer patrols. |
6. | commit | f. | Made previously unknown or secret information known to others. |
7. | beat | g. | Deal or trade in something illegal (like people, drugs, ivory, etc.). |
Paragraph 4
8. | rhetorically | h. | Either of the two sexes (male and female) or other category. |
9. | discourse | i. | Having the ability, fitness, or quality necessary to do or achieve a specified thing. |
10. | capable | j. | Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. |
11. | gender | k. | (with reference to a question) with the aim of producing an effect or making a statement rather than eliciting information. |
12. | grave | l. | Written or spoken communication or debate. |
13. | fraud | m. | a response caused by particular action, process, or situation |
14. | triggered | n. | Giving cause for alarm; serious. |
2. SYNONYM MATCH 1: Match the following synonyms from the article.
- majority
- revealed
- range
- committed
- expert
- awareness
- fugitives
- prove
- genders
- fraud
- assortment
- embezzlement
- consciousness
- disclosed
- sexes
- demonstrate
- lion's share
- carried out
- escapees
- specialist
SYNONYM MATCH 2: Match the following synonyms from the article.
- state
- lead
- former
- controversial
- vomit
- get back together
- victim
- duty
- rumor
- fatal
- clue
- contentious
- puke/ throw up
- reconcile
- ex
- gossip
- responsibility
- deadly
- casualty
- condition
4. What would you consider the biggest scandal and what do you know about it ?
Role A – King Juan Carlos Hunting Trip Scandal |
Role B – Barcelona Traction case. |
Role C – Case Matesa |
Role D – Reace case Role E- Sofico Scandal Role F -El Caso Gurtel Roel G- Lost Children of Francoism Role H- Del Burgo Affair Scandal Role I- A Scandal Not on the List |
5. Questions:
1.If the head of police wants to clarify that the behavior of these 3 officers is not representative of the entire police force, this is the behavior of a just a few bad .
2.Had the 2 police offers not been arrested for their crime, then they would have
.
3.Where are the 2 officers currently ?
4. What is the usual amount of time someone would spend in prison for murder?
5. If the police officers received a very short prison sentence compared to a regular civilian, then they would have received a .
6.If the other police officers decided to ignore the crime, then they
.
7. If the police in Barcelona are famous for being corrupt, then they are
corrupt.
8. If a police officer is new at his job , then he is a .
9.If a police officer is very experienced, then he is a .
10. If the police officers that were found guilty of the murder must remain in jail for the rest of their lives then they received a .
6. OFFENSES: How bad are these offenses? What should the punishment be for people found guilty of them? When applicable, share with us your experiences about them.
| How Bad | Punishment |
Pickpocketing | | |
Fraud | | |
Identity theft | | |
Drug trafficking | | |
Burglary | | |
Human trafficking | | |
7.Role play
Role A – Shoplifting |
Role B – Pickpocketing |
Role C – Speeding |
Role D – Vandalism Role E- Assault You think assault is the worst crime. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their crimes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least punishable of these (and why): Role F- Possession of cannabis You think possession of cannabis is the worst crime. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their crimes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least punishable of these (and why): Role G- Hate speech You think hate speech is the worst crime. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their crimes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least punishable of these (and why): Role I- Train fare evasion You think train fare evasion is the worst crime. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their crimes aren't as bad. Also, tell the others which is the least punishable of these (and why): |
8.Discussion - Most of Europe's most-wanted criminals are women
- Why do you think the majority of the most-wanted are women?
- What would it be like to be on the run?
- What more can the police do to catch the suspects?
- What is crime like in your country?
- Do men and women commit different crimes in your country?
- Do you think 'crime has no gender'?
- What do you think of Europol and Interpol?
- Why do people commit crimes?
- Have you ever committed a crime?
- Why are most criminals thought of as being men?
- Are women equally as capable of committing serious crimes as men?
- What would you do if you saw someone on the most-wanted list?
- What do you think of criminals?
- How can we reduce crime?
- What questions would you like to ask Europol?
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