When police broke up a rowdy party that Colon city council member and legislator Jairo “Bolota” Salazar threw at Los Lagos on November 10, this officer was hit by a bottle thrown by someone in the crowd. Photo by the Policía Nacional.
Apparently it’s not just queers whom he wants to beat up. Cops are not amused.
by Eric Jackson
The National Police have filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Court against double-dipping Colon politician Jairo “Bolota” Salazar, who collects paychecks as both a member of the Colon city council and as a member of the national legislature. The allegations are obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duty, and later attempting to practice law by purporting to represent a man who was arrested when police moved to break up a party of Salazar’s where the entertainment included loud noise late at night and firearms being brandished.
The high court and the legislature have long had a mutual nonaggression pact, where the magistrates rarely hold a deputy to account — even if the politician kills someone — and the National Assembly routinely declines to act in the face of the most flagrant judicial corruption. But then, conduct as brazen as police allege Salazar to have indulged in goes beyond the usual.
It’s my party and I’ll — wave guns around if I want to?
Most often in Panama, it’s a very bad idea to challenge a cop:
When you haven’t graduated from law school and purport to represent somebody, you probably expect impunity if you do it in front of police station video cameras:
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