[VIDEO] Leandro Lo Shooting Acquittal Latest: Officer’s Public Apology Angres The BJJ World

• Military police lieutenant Henrique Velozo has issued a public video apology to the family of Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Leandro Lo after his controversial acquittal.
• The Leandro Lo shooting acquittal came after a São Paulo jury accepted his self-defense claim over the 2022 nightclub killing.
• Lo’s mother, Fátima, has condemned the verdict as unjust and is preparing an appeal, pointing to medical and visual evidence she says contradicts the officer’s story.
• The apology – delivered while Velozo still insists he “preserved” his life – has only deepened outrage and debate across the global BJJ community.

How The Leandro Lo Shooting Unfolded At Clube Sírio Nightclub

Before the Leandro Lo shooting acquittal and the officer’s apology, there was the August 7, 2022 confrontation that ended one of Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s greatest competitive careers.

Eight-time world champion Leandro Lo, 33, was at a music event inside the Clube Sírio in São Paulo’s Indianópolis neighborhood when an encounter with off-duty military police officer Henrique Otávio Oliveira Velozo escalated.

According to prosecutors, Velozo approached the table where Lo sat with friends and provoked a confrontation. The situation turned physical when Lo, a celebrated Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion, used a grappling restraint to control the officer.

After being released, prosecutors say Velozo returned, fired a single shot toward Lo’s head, and even kicked him after pulling the trigger. Lo was rushed to hospital but did not survive.

The defense has always painted a radically different picture of the Leandro Lo shooting. Velozo’s legal team argued that he was confronted by Lo’s group, pushed by one of the champion’s companions, and taken down.

They claim that after identifying himself as a police officer and drawing his firearm, he faced Lo advancing again while another person tried to grab the weapon, leading to the fatal shot.

These competing narratives – ambush versus desperate self-defense inside the Clube Sírio nightclub – set the stage for a trial that would grip Brazil and the wider grappling world.

Inside The Barra Funda Courtroom And The Leandro Lo Shooting Acquittal

More than three years after the killing, the case reached a jury at the Barra Funda Criminal Forum in São Paulo. Over three days of testimony, a panel of five women and two men heard from nine witnesses, including friends of Lo, a defense witness, and Velozo himself.

Prosecutors pushed for a conviction on triple-qualified homicide charges, citing base motives, treacherous methods, and ambush, with a requested sentence of at least 20 years.

Despite that, at least four jurors sided with the officer’s argument that he acted to protect his own life.

The Leandro Lo shooting acquittal was read out by Judge Fernanda Jacomini of the 1st Jury Court, allowing Velozo to walk free after more than three years and three months in custody at the Romão Gomes military prison.

Defense attorney Cláudio Dalledone Jr. hailed the outcome in emphatic terms:

Justice has prevailed and arbitrariness was set aside
– Cláudio Dalledone Jr. –

From the other side, outrage was immediate. Lead prosecutor João Carlos Calsavara described the trial as “complicated” and flagged what he considered serious flaws, stating his belief that the verdict could be overturned on appeal.

The jury decision, reinstatement of Velozo to the police force, and the Henrique Velozo verdict as a whole already had the BJJ world on edge. The officer’s next move – a public apology video – was never going to land in neutral territory.

Lo Family Set to Appeal

Lo’s mother, Fátima Lo, made her stance crystal clear in the hours after the Leandro Lo shooting acquittal.

We will appeal, yes, because there was no justice
– Fátima Lo –

Speaking in an emotional video message, she described the verdict as reliving her son’s death:

Yesterday I buried Leandro for the second time
– Fátima Lo –

Fátima has vowed a Lo family appeal, arguing that crucial evidence was mishandled or misrepresented. She pointed to medical findings showing no injuries on Velozo’s body, which she believes undercuts his self-defense narrative.

Her frustration extends to what she views as a system that allows defendants to construct a story over time:

The defendant can lie, the justice system allows the defendant to lie. So he lied a lot. He invented his story there, guided by his defense.
– Fátima Lo –

Prosecutors echo her concerns, highlighting procedural issues and vowing to pursue avenues to challenge the Henrique Velozo verdict. In the meantime, the BJJ world has reacted with visible anger.

Reports describe a global community “crying” with the family and furious at what many see as impunity after the death of a generational talent.

Henrique Velozo Verdict, Public Apology, And What Justice Means For BJJ

Against that backdrop, Velozo’s recent video message – the first major public statement from him since his acquittal – landed like a grenade. In it, the officer directly addresses Lo’s loved ones and supporters:

I need to make a request for forgiveness to the family members, the mother, the father, the sister, the friends, and to all the people who loved Leandro Lo
– Henrique Velozo –

He notes that he spent “three years and three months” incarcerated awaiting judgment, framing the verdict as the culmination of a long ordeal. But in the same breath, he doubles down on his claim that he was backed into a corner that night.

I was placed at a limit, a limit that I would not like to be, where I unfortunately had to dirty my hands with blood to be able to preserve my life
– Henrique Velozo –

For critics of the Leandro Lo shooting acquittal, that framing is exactly the problem. The apology acknowledges Lo’s family and the pain of his supporters, but it does not concede wrongdoing.

Instead, it reinforces the self-defense story that the Lo family and prosecution insist is incompatible with the evidence they presented at the Barra Funda Criminal Forum.

In the BJJ community, the reaction has been raw. Many see Lo’s eight world titles and status as one of the sport’s greatest ever competitors as part of a legacy that deserves more than what they view as a technical victory in court for a state agent

For Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, this story won’t just be another headline from outside the mats. It’s a test of how a tight-knit global community responds when questions of violence, policing, and accountability collide with the death of one of its greatest champions – and when the only official closure comes in the form of a verdict and an apology many simply cannot accept.

In that sense, the Leandro Lo shooting acquittal will keep echoing far beyond the courtroom, long after the cameras stop replaying Velozo’s words.

Leandro Lo Killer Reinstated With Pay While Facing Triple-Qualified Homicide

What Really Happened The Night Leandro Lo Was Shot?

BREAKING: Leandro Lo was shot in the head by the police officer in Sao Paulo, Brazil