SAO PAULO (AP) — A leading candidate for Brazil's presidency says police should be given license to kill criminals.

Congressman Jair Bolsonaro says that criminals can't be treated as "normal human beings" and that police should be allowed to kill them.

In Bolsonaro's words, "If he kills 10, 15 or 20 with 10 or 30 bullets each, he needs to get a medal and not be prosecuted."

He made the comments Tuesday night on Brazil's most popular news program on TV Globo.

Bolsonaro's law-and-order rhetoric has helped put him among the top contenders for the October presidential election in a nation fed up with crime.

Human rights groups say police killings of suspects are already rampant.