Bogota: Five people have been killed during protests in Colombia in the wake of the death of lawyer Javier Ordonez who had been tasered by police, Caracol Radio reported.
Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo reportedly confirmed the death toll and offered a 50 million pesos ($13,500) reward for information about those linked to the killings.
Ordonez, 45, died in the capital of Bogota in the early hours of Wednesday after being repeatedly tasered by police officers, who tried to arrest him over violating coronavirus rules.
According to the victim’s friends, police officers arrived after they and Ordonez left home to buy alcohol, thus violating the quarantine.
Protests soon emerged in Bogota and other Colombian cities, escalating into clashes with law enforcement officers and attacks on police stations.