Two Officers Charged: How Far Does Police Proportionality Go?
Dos agentes procesados: ¿hasta dónde llega la proporcionalidad policial?
Sep 3, 2026·1 min read·Graded Spanish · word-by-word audio
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Un juez de Reus ha procesado a dos agentes del cuerpo de élite de los Mossos d'Esquadra por herir gravemente a un vigilante de seguridad. El vigilante, llamado Marin E.S., había disparado antes contra sus antiguos compañeros de trabajo y también contra los agentes que intentaron detenerlo. Los hechos ocurrieron en diciembre de 2021.
El juez considera que la actuación de los agentes fue "descontrolada" y "desproporcionada". Según el auto, los agentes no solo querían neutralizar al vigilante, sino que su intención pudo ser "acribillar su integridad física". El vigilante sufrió lesiones medulares graves y perdió casi toda la movilidad de su cuerpo.
Además, el juez señala contradicciones entre las declaraciones de los agentes en el juicio y lo que escribieron en los informes policiales. Por ejemplo, los agentes dijeron que el vigilante disparó de forma indiscriminada, pero solo se encontraron 5 casquillos de bala. También afirmaron que apuntaron a las "zonas bajas" del cuerpo, pero en el juicio no supieron explicar hacia dónde dispararon.
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Watch out, English speaker
English speakers often use the simple past where Spanish requires the pluperfect. In English, 'The guard had fired' and 'The guard fired' can sometimes blur in casual speech, but Spanish strictly uses 'había disparado' for an action before another past action. If you say 'El vigilante disparó antes' instead of 'había disparado', you lose the sequence and may imply the shooting happened at the same time as the main event.
English uses 'while' or 'whereas' for contrasts, but Spanish 'mientras que' is not interchangeable with 'mientras' (while, time). 'Mientras que' always sets up a direct contrast between two clauses, similar to 'while' in English. However, unlike English 'while', it cannot mean 'at the same time as'—for that, use 'mientras' alone. So 'Uno disparó 17 veces, mientras que el otro solo una' means 'One fired 17 times, whereas the other only once', not 'while they were firing'.
Key vocabulary
procesarv.
to prosecute, to indict
“El juez ha procesado a dos agentes por lesiones graves.”— The judge has charged two officers with serious injuries.
Pattern procesar a alguien por un delito to prosecute someone for a crime
Compare acusar (to accuse)
Past participle procesado; present perfect ha procesado
💡 Root proceso (process); in legal contexts it means "to enter judicial proceedings".
agentem./f.
officer, agent
“Los agentes actuaron durante la operación.”— The officers acted during the operation.
Pattern agente de policía police officer
Compare policía (police officer)
Plural agentes
💡 From Latin agens, meaning "one who acts".
vigilantem./f.
security guard, watchman
“El vigilante trabajaba en una oficina de Tarragona.”— The security guard worked at an office in Tarragona.
Pattern vigilante de seguridad security guard
Compare guardia (guard)
Plural vigilantes
💡 From the verb vigilar (to watch over).
dispararv.
to shoot, to fire
“El agente disparó diecisiete veces.”— The officer fired seventeen times.
Pattern disparar contra alguien to shoot at someone
Compare tirotear (to shoot repeatedly)
Past tense disparó; past participle disparado
💡 dis- means "apart", parar means "to stop"; originally "to cause to stop", later extended to "to fire (a weapon)".
💡 Prefix des- indicates negation; proporcionado means "proportionate".
neutralizarv.
to neutralize, to subdue
“Los agentes intentaron neutralizar al vigilante.”— The officers tried to neutralize the security guard.
Pattern neutralizar a un sospechoso to subdue a suspect
Compare inmovilizar (to immobilize)
Past tense neutralizó; past participle neutralizado
💡 From neutral (neutral), with the verb suffix -izar.
contradicciónf.
contradiction
“El juez señala contradicciones en las declaraciones.”— The judge points out contradictions in the statements.
Pattern hay una contradicción entre... there is a contradiction between...
Compare incoherencia (inconsistency)
Plural contradicciones
💡 contra- means "opposite"; a variant of decir, meaning "to say the opposite".
casquillom.
shell casing
“Encontraron cinco casquillos en el suelo.”— They found five shell casings on the ground.
Pattern casquillo de bala bullet casing
Compare cápsula (cartridge case)
Plural casquillos
💡 Root casco (fragment); -illo indicates small size.
informem.
report
“Los informes iniciales no coinciden con las declaraciones.”— The initial reports do not match the statements.
Pattern informe policial police report
Compare reporte (report)
Plural informes
💡 From informar (to inform).
Grammar spotlight
Past perfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto)
B1
It expresses the 'past of the past', i.e., an action that happened before another past action. The structure is the past tense of haber (había/habías/había...) + past participle.
“El vigilante había disparado antes contra sus antiguos compañeros.”— The security guard had previously shot at his former colleagues.
⚠️ Don't confuse it with the simple past; the past perfect emphasizes that the action occurred before another past action.
Contrast structure mientras que
B1
Mientras que means 'whereas' and is used to contrast two opposite or different facts. It connects two independent clauses.
“Uno de los agentes disparó 17 veces, mientras que el otro solo disparó una vez.”— One of the officers fired 17 times, whereas the other only fired once.
⚠️ Don't confuse it with mientras (when/while); mientras que is specifically used for contrast.
Sentence patterns to steal
El juez considera que la actuación de los agentes fue "descontrolada" y "desproporcionada".
The judge considers that the officers' actions were 'out of control' and 'disproportionate'.
El juez considera que + indicative clauseThe subject can be changed to 'La policía', etc., to mean 'considers'.
Según el auto, los agentes no solo querían neutralizar al vigilante, sino que su intención pudo ser "acribillar su integridad física".
According to the ruling, the officers not only wanted to neutralize the security guard, but their intention may have been to 'destroy his physical integrity'.
no solo... sino que...Can be replaced with 'no solo... sino también...', meaning 'not only... but also...'.
El juez señala contradicciones entre las declaraciones de los agentes en el juicio y lo que escribieron en los informes policiales.
The judge points out contradictions between the officers' statements at trial and what they wrote in the police reports.
señalar contradicciones entre A y BA and B can be replaced with other contrasting items.
Los agentes dijeron que el vigilante disparó de forma indiscriminada, pero solo se encontraron 5 casquillos de bala.
The officers said that the security guard fired indiscriminately, but only 5 bullet casings were found.
A dijo que..., pero solo...Can be replaced with 'afirmar que', etc., meaning 'claimed'.
También afirmaron que apuntaron a las "zonas bajas" del cuerpo, pero en el juicio no supieron explicar hacia dónde dispararon.
They also claimed that they aimed at the 'lower areas' of the body, but in court they could not explain where they fired.
afirmar que + indicative clause, pero no saber + infinitiveCan be replaced with 'decir que', etc.
Spain's 'Principle of Proportionality' and Police Action
In Spain, police use of force must follow the 'principle of proportionality' (principio de proporcionalidad), meaning the intensity of force should be commensurate with the level of threat. In this case, the judge considered 17 shots clearly excessive, sparking a social debate on the boundaries of law enforcement. The principle is rooted in Spanish criminal law and constitutional court rulings.
Source: Spanish Criminal Code and Constitutional Court case law