And while no one has been arrested for any of those crimes, yet. The commissioner had a significant public complaint to make about the judiciary. Now, this is not a line that law enforcement usually crosses since the judiciary is strictly independent and protected from reckless criticism by contempt laws. 

But, yesterday, the commissioner went out of his way to publicly castigate magistrates who he believes are too lenient with persons convicted of being a gang member.

Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"The public believes that we the police don't want to put these people behind bars but let me say this and the judiciary is not going to be upset with me about this but I have to let the public know that we have charged a number of gang members. They have gone to court and they have pled guilty. The court imposed a fine. We have an issue with the imposition of a fine. The court does have that discretion and we respect that but after the time has lapsed for the fine to be paid the court still goes again and issues an extension to these gang members to pay the fine. So when we believe that the time to pay the fine is up and we can get them to prison on a commitment warrant, we can't get them to prison because they're continually getting extension and extension and then they remain on the street and these are the same people who are creating problems for us."

"There is a thing in law that once a magistrate and a court have dealt with a matter that magistrate or that court in functus meaning that they have no jurisdiction to re-open that matter and for me as a trained lawyer, I may be wrong, but I believe that when the magistrates grant these extensions it is tantamount to re-opening the case, giving an additional time to pay and for me, they are acting outside the scope of their authority because they are functus. And so it is a matter that I have to take up with the chief justice or somebody to have these magistrates desist from granting extensions when the time to pay has elapsed. We cannot have the same people who are creating havoc in our society enjoying leniency from our judicial system; it is counterproductive; it defeats the purpose of the court. These criminals are making a mockery of us and it needs to stop."

Tow More Reports On BDF Heli Crash Find Pilot Error

Turning now to yesterday's other big press conference, the Ministry of National Security held a briefing at 5:00 to present two more reports on the BDF Helicopter crash that killed four soldiers, and to review the report presented last week.  

Of course, that was right on the button of the media's evening news, so the questions were under the compress of that deadline.  And the new reports weren't posted until after the press conference.  Jules Vasquez looked at them this morning; here's what he found:

The two reports, one by Bell Helicopters and the other by Belize’s Department of Civil Aviation do not really shed any new light on the accident.

Bell, who built the Huey Helicopter concluded that the engine was working at the time of the accident. 

The Civil Aviation Department’s Chief Investigator confirmed, first, the findings of a ballistic test that there were no firearm impacts on the airframe and the aircraft was not shot down. 

The report also notes the weather, a strong cold front which created low visibility and strong winds, but concludes that weather was not the primary causal factor in the incident but was a contributing factor. 

The report finds that the human factor was the cause of the accident.  The crew suffered spatial disorientation while making a sharp right turn in the dark, over a lagoon in heavy winds. 

The report says, quote, “the crew manoeuvred the helicopter in an effort to orientate themselves by using the terrain but this led to the helicopter coming dangerously close to the water and the crew had very little time to identify the situation and react appropriately using flight controls”.  The report also found that not having night vision capability severely reduced their chances of avoiding terrain while at low altitude.

Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - Minister of National Security
"In their view, one of their theories could, since there is no damage to anything to indicate otherwise, that the pilot in command was not fully aware of how high he was, how low he was."

In its closing, the report notes all the contributing factors and concludes the accident was as a result of a combination of meteorological conditions, little operational flight crew experience and human factors which were additionally affected by the organisational pressure to fulfil the mission that possibly led to the helicopter flying into adverse weather conditions and due to poor operational risk management this acorn resulted in the flight crew suffering spatial disorientation which led to the accident.” 

So, did this organisational pressure press them into a mission fraught with danger?

Reporter
"Number one, they were not trained to fly at night. Number two they were not trained to use night flying goggles. Number three, they didn't have hit and the number four, nobody signed that they left off, nobody signed that they landed and also the alt meters on the aircraft were reading differently, proving that there was not pre-flight check. All those are in the report. How can a helicopter partake in a high secretive operation, if none of the things that are necessary for flight including a pre-flight check be done?"

Hon. Michael Peyrefitte
"I believed I did say, that Major Ramirez signed out on the aircraft on 3:54 AM before he took off at 4:07. There were 2 investigations going on based on the press briefing we had last week. There is one concerning the aircraft itself and then there is another one being conducted by Captain Bennett that would deal with protocols, procedures to answer and address all of those concerns that you have but he is engaging in that exact type of inquiry to find out, what's the protocol when even in a secret mission, do you have a take-off time, do you have a landing time. He's investigating all of that as we speak."

Capt. Elton Bennett - Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
"What we uncovered during our investigation is that, the most recent night flying that was conducted by the two was in December of 2019, so there are records of night flying."

Reporter
"What was really the point of that helicopter out there if you don't have the equipment to see the conditions are poor out there, and then what kind of surveillance are you doing really?"

Capt. Elton Bennett
"When a pilot is flying, he's either flying with an instrument under the instrument flight rules or he's flying under visual flight rules. Under the visual flight rules, he's using his naked eyes and this is where the discretion of the pilot will determine if he flies or not and in this case, he was hovering over the area of operation, he was seeing the area of operation, he was reporting back, it was an authorized and controlled operation. Actually the visual flight rules provides you with a broader scope of safety than flying on mere instrument flying rules. As a matter of fact, you're preferred to fly with visual flight rules until the conditions are no long favourable, then you have to switch to your instrument. By safety standards, flying with the naked eye, especially in those operations where you're required to be closer to the ground etc. That's the preferred rules they would fly under."

Reporter
"Is there any consultation any at all with your commander of operations? Someone who's there to ensure that what's supposed to be in place is in place and what's not supposed to take place, doesn't take place - somebody who is basically serves in an advisory position. Was he included in this particular?"

Brig. Gen. Steven Ortega - BDF Commander
"No he wasn't"

Reporter
"Is there a specific reason why he wasn't?"

Brig. Gen. Steven Ortega
"Availability."

Reporter
"Many of your men are quite concerned that did not happen, the eye, the person that is supposed to look out for that team, one of the key persons who was supposed to be included in that, I believe it's Major Rojelio Pop, that he was absent there and there was no one designated at the very last minute that, those protocols were followed."

Brig. Gen. Steven Ortega
"There are other protocols that we have to follow."

Hon. Michael Peyrefitte
"That's part of the investigation they were not followed, that's where the recommendation of Captain Bennett would be for different purposes but that's a part of the investigation to see if there was a breakdown and if there was a breakdown, what should follow from that."

Post Mortem Examinations Closed to Families

All three reports have been published in full on the Ministry of National Security website.  

One interesting side-note that came out of yesterday's press conference was that the families of the soldiers were not allowed to view the bodies or witness the post mortem.  Captain Bennett told us why:

The reports say they all died of blunt force trauma.  As we have reported, the helicopter, crashed nose first, from a low altitude at full speed into a 5 foot lagoon.

Calling All Hospitality Industry Workers

The COVID-19 pandemic has rocked the world and Belize's economy has taken a major hit to its vital tourist industry. Tonight Ted Tejada, President of the Belize Hotel Association is reporting that hotel occupancy is down to between 5 and 10%. That's a projection that's bound to get much worse as today the United States, Belize primary tourist market, sent out an advisory for U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to COVID-19.  

So, may hotels are facing the prospect of massive layoffs or even temporary shutdowns, until the market rebounds - and who knows when that is.

Still, GOB is asking hoteliers not to lay off their employees and in an effort to support the industry, government will work through social security to provide a percentage of employee salaries. Now they just need to find out how many employees hoteliers have.  Tejada says they are doing a census of all employees to submit to government:

And tomorrow the staff of The Belize Hotel Association will spend the day calling hotels nationwide in order to gather an accurate headcount of the industry's workforce.

In related news, the domestic air carrier, Tropic Air, announced today that they are scaling back some of their operations due to COVID-19.

In a press release, the company says, quote, "Tropic Air will have to suspend all flights to Orange Walk (Tower Hill) with immediate effect.  This is in addition to the suspension of flights to Roatan, Honduras and Flores, Guatemala that were announced earlier this week, and was a result of those nations closing their borders." End quote. 

Handwashing, Both Art And Science

Belize remains free of any confirmed cases on COVID-19 but keeping it that way is an immense challenge. And in preparing for the eventuality of fighting the virus, the public has been told time and time again that handwashing is the single most important preventative measure. 

That's why the Ministry of Education and its partners designated today, as National Handwashing Awareness day. Cherisse Halsall visited two Primary schools to see how in the Corona-era, handwashing is now both art and science: 

Schools and Universities nationwide close tomorrow Friday, March 20th and will not reopen until Monday, April 20th. 

Cops: Woman Had A Gun On Bus

Anna Herrera, a 23-year-old mother from San Pedro Town, is at the Belize Central Prison tonight. That's after she was caught by police trying to transport a loaded handgun on a bus.

Police say that they busted her today when they stopped a passenger bus in Hattieville. The officers searched the bus for illegal drugs and firearms, and that's when they found Herrera's bag. The officers searched it, and they found a Daewoo brand 9-millimeter pistol, which was loaded with 16 live rounds of ammunition. She had no license for the gun or the ammunition, and so she was arrested and charged with keeping an unlicensed firearm and keeping unlicensed ammunition.

She was arraigned today before Magistrate Khadeem Palmer, where she pleaded guilty. She was remanded into custody, and her case has been adjourned until June 19th, 2020.

Dept of Transport Scolds Buses

And, speaking of buses, COVID-19 may be forcing Belize's Department of transport to finally treat commuters like human beings.

A press release from the Department of Transport, urges the public to report over-crowding of buses, busitos, "dalla vans", taxis, and water taxis.  The number to call is 610-8163.

Indeed, with public gatherings limited to 100 persons, and social distancing a national priority - bus transport round counter to all that.  We know too well about busses often cramming almost 10o persons, in standees and seated commuters unto crowded runs, it could be an incubator for COVID-19.

Today, the Director of Health Services said that crowding on buses should experience natural attrition once schools close down:

The release from the Department of Transport encourages commuters to take alternative buses in the morning and evening to avoid travel during rush hours.

It adds that all operators are required to clean and sanitize their buses, vans, boats, etc. before and after each run. Â Ã‚ 

 And, for the part that weary commuters really want to hear, quote, 

"Public transport service is limited to seated passengers only. Bus operators/drivers shall not transport excess passengers. Transporting standing passengers is a traffic violation and the Department of Transport will enforce the law to its fullest.  (Anyone standing will be taken off the bus and the driver will be ticketed.)" end quote.  

And, to avoid standees, quote "Bus operators are required to provide additional buses during rush hours." End quote.  We'll be waiting to see that one.