Around 4:00, the clash for Calvo's death began. The general report according to the declaration of eight Ertzainas would be: Calvo asked him to go to the bathroom; on the toilet he punched one of the three Ertzainas who were with him; when he tried to dominate two Ertzainas and saw that they could not, the third threw gas into Calvo; the Ertzainas, who went down the dungeons, closed the doors and left them inside Calvo; after the noises came more Ertzainas.

But this story has a lot of contradictions. The main ones are then analyzed, avoiding the smallest ones.

Killer gas

According to the autopsy, Calvo was killed by the pulmonary edema caused by the tear gas of the Ertzaintza. On the contrary, only one of the eight Ertzainas, agent 9469, acknowledged having cast gas “twice” and with the spray “one second” in each of them. It's hard for that amount of gas to kill a person. Anybody flushed the gas?

According to two ertzainas, Calvo himself got and threw the spray of agent 9469. Agent 10545 stated that Calvo had put gas in his arm: he noticed it but did not see it because in the dungeons there was no light, but the rest of the ertzaines declared that there was light in the dungeons. Agent 2139 also stated that Calvo had thrown gas: he did not see it but “heard” across the door. The other six Ertzainas stated, however, that they had not seen the Calvo spray in their hand or thrown gas. Neither agents 1165 and 1289 followed Calvo's movements through the groove of the air and the peephole of one of the doors.

So, in addition to Agent 9469, has another ertzaina thrown gas? It is not known: the ertzaines who investigated the case did not investigate the sprays of the other seven agents to determine if they were used. This was accepted in the trial and both the family attorney Txema Montero and the TAT criticized the evident “gaps” of the investigation.

All Ertzainas stated that they had to leave the dispute area within a few seconds without being able to hold the gas, even leaving their peers in danger, while Calvo could not influence even if he remained inside the building for at least 15-20 minutes.

Finally, realizing he had no pulse, agent 2139 gave him a mouth and a 10545 massage. Neither of the two mentioned effects, although subsequently ambulance or emergency medical personnel had to put masks to store Calvo, due to nausea, dizziness or photophobia caused by the gas emitted by the mouth.

Dolls

According to the story of the Ertzainas, in the dungeons Calvo was not tied, except for a few seconds: when they managed to dominate at the end of the contest they put the burgundy on him, but then he lost his pulse and released him again. However, both autopsy and emergency reports describe deep fingerprints on body wrists. According to the coroner who analyzed the reports at the request of ARGIA and the statements of the Ertzainas, it is impossible to know how long it was linked to Calvo, but “it is not credible that it is a matter of seconds”. At the trial, forensics stated that the wrists joined Calvo with soft material and not with their hands. Nurse Patxi Bezares says Calvo had remains of a hemp rope on his wrists when he saw it in the morgue. A direct witness told his lawyer that he saw Calvo “tied like a flock,” who declared him in trial.

Blows

Two out of eight Ertzainas – 10545 and 1289 – agreed in the statement to hit Calvo with his veta, “once”. The only agent that acknowledges having given several deletions is 1289, always in the context of the conflict. The autopsy described traces of at least 47 blows of drunk, as well as 10 bruises and broken skin fragments. The causes of the “large bruises” or the two cuts of the head (a very deep one) of the testicles described by the autopsy are also not explained.

Forensic

These statements were maintained by the Ertzainas in general at the trial and did not answer the questions of the allegations.

ARGIA asks a forensic with many years of experience to compare the statements of the ertzainas with the result of the autopsy: “Undoubtedly, the police report, in general and in detail, does not correspond to reality. Traumatic body remains contradict and death by gas.”

Sponsorship of the Department of Security

When the Department of Security gave the first version of death, the Ertzainas had already made statements. “The detainee lost consciousness after suffering a violent nervous crisis and attacking the Ertzaines who wanted to help him.” No gases or blows. On 23 August, the Department issued a second version, forced by news that was being published about the state of the corpse and the presence of the gas: The department recognized the need to use gas and porras to dominate Calvo.

The Security Department, led by Juan Mari Atutxa, tried to give a dangerous and violent image of Calvo. In giving his first version, he emphasized that he tried to steal the weapon in dungeons to an ertzaina, and that in the second, at the time of arrest, in the statements of the Ertzainas at the time of arrest, this is not recorded. Most of the gas was purchased by Calvo himself to the two Ertzainas, although the statement of the other six suggested the opposite. He also noted that Calvo was three times admitted to psychiatric wards with the diagnosis of “paranoid schizophrenia of a violent nature”. His brother and his neighbors deny the violent nature of the media and a coroner and a psychiatrist assure ARGIA that “violent” schizophrenia does not exist as a clinical diagnosis.

Police model

"Before, the risk of changing our police model came from outside [of them called zipayo]. Now we have it inside the house and we have to be clear if we want to maintain our police model." This has been said by Josu Bujanda, head of the Ertzaintza in 2023, in the face of serious clashes between the government and the Ertzaines.

30 years ago, when the problem was only “out”, a citizen was killed in the police station, drowned in the gas and full of blows. “He has been the victim of his illness,” said Deputy Security Advisor Martía; “There was no disproportion in the actions of the agents,” Atutxa. The Ertzaintza unions always supported their colleagues. The Government attorney called for acquittal in the trial.

There was no forgiveness or explanation to the family, no recognition to Juan Calvo, no dismissal or imprisonment of the Ertzaines, no recognition of responsibility or resignation by the political leaders. Even less, the revision of the police model.

* This article is part of a broader report. Other articles and information:

- How and why did Juan Calvo be killed at the Ertzaintza police station?

- 30 years hidden in the light: evidence of torture.

- INTERVIEW | Patxi Bezares, worker of the Hospital Santiago who attended Juan Calvo: "That body was massacred."

- VIDEO | Juan Calvo: several episodes of the autopsy.

- Witness of Calvo's death: “Things were not clarified”