RIO DE JANEIRO -- Human Rights Watch said Thursday that a pattern of covering up police killings has thwarted efforts to curb violence in Rio de Janeiros slums ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil.Many of the people killed by police in recent years were unarmed, in custody or trying to flee, according to the 109-page report. Authorities have said that in most cases, the police had come under attack, but prosecutors told the rights group that in the majority of the cases there was no confrontation.The city is gearing up for the Olympic Games that begin on Aug. 5, with security as one of the main concerns. Rights groups have condemned the increasing use of excessive force in slums and outlying areas. Human Rights Watch said the lack of investigation and prosecution of officers to some extent unraveled a security overhaul that had shown progress.You cant be an effective police officer in a community if people distrust you, fear you, they even hate you, said Daniel Wilkinson, managing director of the Americas division at the organization. Its compromising any effort to improve public security and fulfill this promise for the Olympics.Rio police have had a long track record of carrying out extrajudicial killings with more than 8,000 deaths by law enforcement since 2006. However, Wilkinson said police killings dropped from 2007 to 2013 after an effort to reduce crime in violent slums through the use of a new community police force.But police killings have been rising in the past three years in Rio de Janeiro state, with 645 people killed in officer-involved shootings in 2015, compared to 416 in 2013.They failed to deal with this basic problem, which is that there are a lot of cases of police executing people, Wilkinson said. Theres almost zero accountability. These cases arent investigated, they are not prosecuted and people can get away with them. It was no surprise that after initial progress, the problem of police killings started to bounce back.The rate of 3.9 police killings per 100,000 people in 2015 is almost five times that of South Africas and nearly 10 times that of the U.S.The New York-based rights group interviewed 34 current and former police officers who detailed a culture of combat that rewards them for killing instead of arresting drug-trafficking suspects. They said they covered up killings by planting guns on victims, or removing them from crime scenes to deliver dead people at hospitals, destroying evidence in the process.The organization said it studied 64 cases and found that forensic evidence in half of them was inconsistent with officials accounts. Autopsies in 20 cases showed the dead had been shot at close range, something not typical of shootouts. The report also showed that Rio police killed five people for each person they injured from 2013 to 2015, a number the group says is the opposite of what one would expect.The investigative police are usually tasked with investigating police killings, but detectives often do not visit the scenes of the deaths or even interview all of the officers involved, the report said, adding that prosecutors filed charges in only 15 of the 3,441 police killings between 2010 and 2015.Wilkinson said some recent changes in the justice system bear some promise, such as turning officer-involved killings over to the states homicide division instead of neighborhood precincts. The group also recommends increasing the number of prosecutors who investigate only police abuse and improving internal investigations within the police.Rio de Janeiro state security officials did not respond to a request for comment.Discount Sneakers Online . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Sneakers Sale Nz . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.salesneakersnz.com/ . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Cheap Sneakers Nz . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Cheap Mens Shoes Nz . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city.TORONTO -- Russell Martin had three hits and two RBI, R.A. Dickey pitched 6 2/3 innings for his first home win since July 10 and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 on Tuesday night.Toronto remained tied with Boston for first place in the AL East. The Red Sox beat Tampa Bay 2-1.Martin had an RBI single in the first, drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk in the third, singled and scored in the fifth, and doubled over the head of center fielder Mike Trout in the seventh.Michael Saunders hit his 21st home run, a solo shot off A.J. Achter in the eighth, and Edwin Encarnacion and Darwin Barney each reached base three times as the Blue Jays won their fifth straight over the Angels. Toronto has outscored Los Angeles 51-16 in that span.Angels rookie Nick Buss hit his first major league home run, a two-run drive off Dickey in the second, but Los Angeles lost for the fourth time in six games. The Angels have lost 15 of 18 overall.The Angels lost their 11th straight road game, their longest such skid since a 14-game streak in 1969.Dickey (9-13) came in 2-8 with a 5.57 ERA in 13 home starts but held the last-place Angels in check, alloowing two runs and six hits.ddddddddddddTrailing 2-1, Toronto loaded the bases with no outs against left-hander Tyler Skaggs in the third. Barney scored the tying run when Martin walked and Encarnacion put the Blue Jays in front by scoring on Troy Tulowitzkis double play groundout.Skaggs (1-3) allowed four runs and four hits in four-plus innings. His five walks were a season-worst.TRAINERS ROOMBlue Jays: 2B Devon Travis was not available after getting a cortisone injection in his sore right ring finger. Barney started in his place. ... OF Kevin Pillar (sprained left thumb) was activated off the 15-day DL and started in center field. RHP Ryan Tepera was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to clear a spot for Pillar.UP NEXTAngels: RHP Matt Shoemaker (7-13, 4.14) is 1-1 with an 8.38 ERA in two career games against Toronto.Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (7-5, 3.20) allowed a season-high five earned runs against the Yankees on Aug. 16. It was the third time in 21 starts this season Estrada has allowed more than three earned runs. ' ' '