Rondas Ostensivas Tobias de Aguiar (Portuguese for '' Tobias de Aguiar Ostensive Patrols'') are patrols, mostly known by their

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

ROTA. They are the special force of the São Paulo Military Police, which focus on flexibility and fast reaction. Used in the event of civil unrest to restore public order, and in tactical operations and defense in urban areas. Its official title is 1º Batalhão de Policiamento de Choque (Portuguese for 1st Police Shock Battalion "Tobias de Aguiar"). A Brazilian police shock unit is a tactical unit.

History

In 1970, in response to a wave of guerrilla bank robberies carried out in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

against the military government, the 1st Battalion of the São Paulo Military Police, known as "Tobias de Aguiar", was converted into the "Rondas Ostensivas Tobias de Aguiar" (Tobias de Aguiar Ostensive Patrols) battalion, which was kept after the defeat of the guerrillas as a type of SWAT unit. In the decades that followed, the battalion has been a target for criticism in Brazil due to their alleged use of excessive violence and non-compliance with the law, having been compared to "State-owned Death Squads" in a 1993 non-fictional account by journalist Caco Barcellos in the book ''Rota 66'', which detailed the execution-like deaths of criminals after exchanging gunfire with ROTA members.

Firearms

Various types of firearms are used by ROTA: * Taurus PT24/7 - Pistol * IMBEL FAL - Assault Rifle * Taurus/FAMAE SAF - Submachine Gun *

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-ro ...

- Assault Rifle *

IMBEL IA2 The IA2 assault rifle, designed and built in Brazil by IMBEL, is designed to replace the FAL, M16A2 and HK33 currently in service with the Brazilian Armed Forces. History The IA2 was created by Lieutenant Colonel Paulo Augusto Capetti Rodri ...

- Assault Rifle * Glock G22 - Pistol *

FN SCAR The FN SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United State ...

- Assault Rifle

Vehicles

ROTA uses SUVs to hold four officers and arrested criminals in the back. Since the 1960s, ROTA has used the following cars: * 1960s - 1980's -

Chevrolet Veraneio The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The name started in 1934 for the 1935 U.S. model year, making it the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in production. It has tra ...

* 1990s - Chevrolet Veraneio Custom D-20 * 1990s - 2000's - Chevrolet Blazer * 2010s - Toyota Hilux SW4 * 2014s -

Chevrolet TrailBlazer The Chevrolet Trailblazer is an automobile nameplate used by General Motors for its Chevrolet brand since 1999 for several SUV models: * TrailBlazer, a name of appearance package for the Chevrolet S-10 Blazer used between 1999 and 2002 * Chevro ...

* 2019s -

After 40 years using GM cars, in 2011 The Military Police of São Paulo State has recently acquired 60 Toyota's Hilux SW4 to the ROTA battalion. There are still some Chevrolet Blazers being used. Those that are being replaced by the Toyotas have been donated to other battalions. In 2019, ROTA received new Chevrolet TrailBlazers, some of that armored.

References

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History

Firearms

Vehicles

References

See also