Last night we told you about Orange Walk resident 28 year old Andres Rodriguez. He was badly beaten by police at his home on Sunday night. The incident
happened after a woman made a report to police that she was being followed by Rodriguez – an accusation he denied. Today we spoke with Superintendent
Dennis Arnold in charge of the Orange Walk formation and he condemns the manner in which these officers handled the situation. Arnold told us that the
officers tried to approach Rodriguez in the vehicle but as we told you last night, he drove off fearing that he would be robbed. The officers thought
Rodriguez was resisting and trying to run away but Arnold says it still didn't warrant such excessive force. As a result of the incident Special
Constable Edward Swift – the officer beating Rodriguez with the stick was charged with wounding yesterday. He was arraigned and granted bail of $1,000.
As for the other officer in the video who was restraining Rodriguez on the ground, he will be sanctioned for neglect of duty – meaning that he should
have intervened and stopped the other officer from using excessive force.