7 News Belize

Victim of Police Brutality Jamir Leal Speaks Up
posted (January 4, 2019)
The two police officers implicated in the violent beat down of a San Pedro Resident on New Year's night remain suspended while police investigate. Meanwhile. Jamir Leal's family is going through the due process to have the matter formally brought before the courts.

To that end, today the family came to the city for a proper medical checkup. We caught up to them at the Belize Medical Associates where they told us how his recovery is going and recounted to us the events that transpired that night. Emanuel Pech has some new insight into the case:

The entire nation was aghast when footage of the brutal beatdown of San Pedro resident Jamir Leal began circulating on social media.

And while the noise of the incident has somewhat died down after police suspended two of their own - PC's Samir Medina and PC Tyrell Rowley."

Leal is still nursing his wounds. Today he and his mother visited the Belize Medical Associates to get a CAT Scan.

Jamir Leal- Beat Down Victim
"I came to get a CAT SCAN for my head to see if I got any injuries and I got an x-ray to check my neck. You see how he kicked me on the video. I still have pains in my neck and my jaw. I just want to make sure everything is good. Right now I am still in pains. I have pains in head and my jaw, my leg hurts and I can't walk well."

While his injuries don't appear severe at the moment, he is in a great deal of pain, he says. And although he acknowledges he was at fault that fateful night, he still wonders why police resorted to the level of violence they displayed.

Jamir Leal- Beat Down Victim
"I know I did wrong. I don't want to get in details. They called the police afterwards. I understood I committed a crime. They could have handcuffed me and arrest me and incarcerate me. But they took it to the extreme and they just hurt me."

Reporter
"You have any reason why it escalated to that level?"

Jamir Leal- Beat Down Victim
"I don't know why they did that. They say that I got aggressive, but they could have handled it like a professional."

But what Leal might not know is that Tyrell Rowley- who executed this ruthless right kick to Leal's face- may have been acting professionally in a different regard; more like a professional football player. The Constable is a star defender for various teams - known on the field as "Baby Hulk". He is seen here playing in the CYDP Peace Cup just last week. Only four days prior to this event.

The two others seen on the video being manhandled by police are Leal's brothers. Rowley also kicked one of them after he was shoved to the side by Rowly again who brandished his licensed firearm.

Leal however got the worst of it. He also got stomped on the head by a civilian, allegedly the bar owner, And was dragged around by Rowley like a lifeless rag doll.

And while all of this was caught on camera, at the moment he didn't feel and has no recollection of what happened because he lost consciousness during the vicious beat down.

Jamir Leal- Beat Down Victim
"I don't even remember when the police hit me. I don't remember his face or anything. I woke in jail. I was bleeding and that was all I remembered."

Reporter
"What was the first thing that was going through your mind at that point in time?"

Jamir Leal- Beat Down Victim
"I was in jail and they didn't sew me or anything. They leave me bleeding and then they wouldn't have taken me to the clinic, it was just because my mother went to see me and she told them to take me."

Now, while police are conducting their own internal investigation into the matter, Leal and his family are looking to press charges against the officers.

Jamir Leal- Beat Down Victim
"We are planning to. We can't leave it like that. I don't remember anything that happened. After they released me and I saw the video and what they did to me. I was like that wasn't fair, I didn't deserve to get treated like that. I was unconscious and they continued hitting me. He could have killed me."

Reporting for 7 news Emanuel Pech.

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