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7 News Camera-Man and Director Detained
posted (February 7, 2011)
And if you're wondering why we didn't have images of at least the murder scene at the end of Friday night's news - it's because police had arrested our camera-man, Victor Noble. That's right, arrested him.

Noble was in the KHMH parking lot, videotaping police as they searched the murder victim, Ian Martinez's car. There was no police boundary established but as the footage will illustrate, he kept a healthy distance. But that didn't satisfy one corporal who detained the 18 year old camera-man - an episode that didn't end until his boss Jules Vasquez was also detained.

Victor Noble, Cameraman detained by police
"A corporal told me to stop video tape and so I did. I stepped a few steps backwards and I continued to tape. He instructed me to stop tape again so I did and I went back to my vehicle. While I was waiting for Monica that's when a police mobile pick-up truck with 4 police officers along with the corporal stopped and asked me where do I work? Who am I? I didn't answer them. He told me 'You know I can arrest you because you are taking my picture' and didn't tell him anything so he took away my camera and gave it to the police officer and grab me by my shirt and put me in the police truck and took me to Lake I police sub-station. The police didn't offer me any call, he just left me there and says 'go call Jules now.'"

Jules Vasquez detained by police
"Finally at 7:45 they called me and told me that they had him at the substation - the Lake I sub-station and I promptly went there and I said that I would remain calm but when I went there and I saw they have him held in a side room and his camera was there - meaning that they had physically taken his camera from him which is like a sacred object to us …you don't touch our cameras! I exploded on them. I went ballistic because that is outrageous, that is unacceptable and I would do it again. You will not hold a cameraman for doing his job; this is not a police state. I have seen this before from Mr. Jeffries, this is now a pattern of behavior. In 2007 Mr. Jeffries did the same thing, arbitrary, unlawful detention of a cameraman for doing his job and that's the same thing that happened in this case. I was then informed that I would be held for insulting words; I happily accepted it. I insisted on being held along with him and then they told us they would take us to the Queen Street police Station to detain, to charge me there. At the Queen Street Station Mr. Grinage had a 3 way meeting with the arresting officer Corporal Tejeda, myself and Victor Noble, the cameraman. Tejeda explained that basically the cameraman refused to say where he works and he, Tejeda wanted to know who was taping him, which is craziness. Tejeda in his explanation to Mr. Grinage did not specify any offence that this young man has committed except he needed to find out who was taping him. Man! He is a public official doing public duties at public facility. So I see this as just a policeman who feels a way and sees who he could chance, that's a very important dynamic here. He saw a young Hispanic male obviously not from Belize City who he could take advantage of and that's what he chose to do."

Jules and Victor were detained for about 35 minutes.

Police declined to charge Jules for disorderly conduct and insulting words - even after he requested to be charged - which we take as implicit acceptance that the entire event had been precipitated by an unjustifiable and unlawful detention.

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