Police and army face off in Brazil

Soldiers clashed with supporters of striking police in Brazil's third-largest city on Monday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the feet of people trying to join officers occupying the Bahia state legislature building.

About one-third of the state's 30,000 police are on strike to protest what they say is over low pay and poor benefits.

Officials said the soldiers are at the building seeking to arrest 11 of the police officers who are wanted for allegedly organizing roving gangs to loot stores and robbing police cars last week, in what Gov. Jaques Wagner said was an effort to spread panic among the population. One officer was already arrested on Sunday.

Wagner said he thinks striking police are also connected to some of the recent killings. Since the strike began last Tuesday, there have been about 90 murders in Salvador, home to 2.7 million people. That's double the normal homicide rate.

ORIGINAL SOURCE
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