Looting, rape and murders have been reported as the scenes of devastation are being compared to the 2014 thriller The Purge.
With officers staging a walk-out over conditions, lawless gangs wielding guns and machetes appear to be running riot - while dead bodies line the streets.
The violence in Espírito Santo has reportedly seen thugs 'shooting anyone who passes' and buses being set on fire.
"My God what is happening."
Schools have been closed and even football matches cancelled in the affected areas due to the lack of security, which has meant many people are refusing to even venture outdoors.
"I won't even leave my house today," one Brazilian resident in Espirato Santo told Political Outsource.
"Things are absolutely crazy, there are people running around with guns in pretty populated areas, dozens of people stealing from malls, even dead bodies on streets."
The acting governor of Espirito Santo state, Cesar Colnago, asked President Michel Temer "to send the National Force and the army to safeguard the security of citizens," a statement on the governor's website said.
Police, aided by relatives and sympathizers blockading police stations, have been protesting against unpaid salaries since early Saturday.
With no patrols on the streets over the weekend, assaults and other crime have multiplied, Brazilian media reported.
Talks would take place with the disgruntled officers "but with the fundamental condition that police are put on the streets," he said.
"All possible means will be used to police the streets."
In reaction to the chaos, the government agreed to re-open negotiations with the military police with new talks to begin today providing officers return to the streets.
State Secretary of Public Security André Garcia told Globo : "The first step taken by the government to overthrow this movement was the filing of a lawsuit requiring the illegality of the movement to be enacted.
The government has threatened to file a lawsuit against the force, claiming the strike is illegal.
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