2019 started off badly for law and order; first there were five murders reported on New Year's Day, and then, on New Year's night, San Pedro police were caught on camera clubbing and kicking a defenseless man around like a rag doll - while they manhandled two others. The victim, who appears to have been knocked unconscious is Jamir Leal and the other men are his two brothers.
They were the center of a scene of chaos that played out in plain view of the public near the Playa Bar and Grill in the Boca Del Rio area of San Pedro Town.
Police were responding to a drunken bar brawl involving Leal, and In trying to control the situation, once again, island the cops got out of hand, brandishing a weapon and behaving aggressively towards members of the public. This is reportedly after Leal, allegedly struck one of the officers.
Today, at a press conference convened to address the New Year's Day crime spike, Acting Commissioner Chester Williams said these officers will be dealt with promptly:
Chester Williams, Acting ComPol
"The video that is circulating on Facebook with 2 police officers and a civilian, who were beating on 2 individuals who seemingly were on the ground. I can tell you that we have since placed those 2 officers on administrative leave, pending a criminal and internal investigation, which is being conducted by Professional Standard Branch. The conduct depict by the video is not what we expect of our officers and so the Belize Police Department condemns the action of those 2 officers in its strongest terms and we are going to ensure that we do what needs to be done to correct the problem."
"We understand the public concern about the actions of the police and we will ensure we work with those persons who are there to be able to provide the level of evidence that we would need to be able to levy charges against those 2 police officers."
Jamir Leal and his two brothers were released from the Polyclinic this morning. Leal had a few injuries which were treated.
You can see his injuries here. He admits he was under the influence and saw his ex with a friend and that's how the entire mess began." We'll have his off camera comments a little later in the news.
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